Broken and Bruised
by KAWAIINECKO
Summary: "SO YOU ARE TELLING ME I CANNOT EVEN HATE MY RAPIST BECAUSE HE IS AS MUCH OF A VICTIM AS I AM!" the blonde raged. Lucy had suffered from a tragic incident and decides to leave Fairy Tail for a bit. But throughout all of this, she wasn't left alone, for a certain iron dragon slayer followed her everywhere. BE WARNED, IT INCLUDES RAPE! also Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.
1. Chapter 1

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 1**

Bruises, scars, scratches, cuts… blood.

That was all Lucy could see in the mirror while she looked at herself. Covering all her body, from top to bottom, scars, bruises, scratches, cuts and a trail of dried blood going down from the inside of her thigh down to her foot.

Water dripped on her feet, reaching a hand to her cheek, she could feel the tears that were flowing from her eyes. 'How did it come to this? I thought he wanted my help!'

But no, that wasn't the case at all, no, not at all.

"_You actually believed I wanted your help you blonde bimbo. Ha! You are stupider than I thought."_

Ah yes, why did she fall for his trick? She really was stupid, how could she trust this man? She was indeed naïve, for she trusted this man only because they share the same insignia, the same guild, the same… family. She couldn't shake what he said to her out of her head.

"_Using you to take over Fairy Tail will be fun, you know? Or better yet, why only restrain to only take you as a hostage, when I can have fun with you?"_

She shook her head, trying to forget the evil smirk he sent her way, when he climbed the bed and started stripping her, her pleas and screams for him to stop falling on deaf ears.

She gripped her head, took some few deep breaths to calm down, she can't think about this, not now, she had to leave here, wherever here is. She had a plan and she needed to be stable enough to be able to go through with it.

She has been here for two days, in those two days, she discovered a pattern. Every day, at 2:00 pm, Evergreen would come in and give her food and then after thirty minutes, she would come in again and take the food tray. Even though they took her keys, she wasn't that weak, she was still able to overpower Evergreen at least, physically of course. She also knew that Bickslow and Freed were not here to not raise suspicion in the guild as to why all the Raijinshuu weren't there, and especially since the Fantasia festival is around the corner, all Fairy Tail members were requested back to the guild so all could participate. She wondered why no one from Fairy Tail noticed she was gone, but it could be because they lied about it.

Third day here, she waited for Evergreen to enter her room, not five minutes later, Evergreen entered.

"I brought you some clothes and food, you can take a shower in the bathroom." Evergreen said coldly, and went back out locking the door behind her.

Lucy wasted no time, she ran for the bathroom, took a quick shower, finally relieved to rid herself of the dried blood, the last two days they didn't give her anything to bathe with, not a towel nor the water in the tub was on, she wondered how people could be so cruel. She got out and quickly dressed, finally after two days she was wearing something. She ate her food, took the plate from the tray and hid it behind her back. Just as she did that, the door flew open.

"Glad to see you look somewhat presentable." Evergreen haughtily said as she went to grab the tray, but noticed the missing plate, she started to turn to Lucy "Hey, where is the pla-"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence, Lucy had already smashed the plate on the fairy's mage head, resulting in knocking her out.

She ran out the door, trying to get a feel of the magic her keys emit. Just as she suspected, no one was home. She continued searching for her keys, until she felt their magic and went directly into a room that looked like an office, she felt the magic coming from the desk. She came closer to the desk and tried to open the drawers, only to find them locked.

She could feel the magic from the first drawer, she crouched down next to it and with tears welling in her eyes, stuttered "Loke, please if you hear me, please I am begging you open your gate, please I need you." The tears flowed down her face "Please I need you here, help me." Her desperate voice echoed in all kinds of worlds, being celestial, demonic, a dragon realm, everyone heard the depressed celestial mage, that's why not only did Loke open his gate, all her spirits did, with the permission of the celestial spirit king.

They looked at her, really looked at her, the broken state she was in, the scars that were evident beneath the clothes she wore, her tearful eyes, and they knew, that they have failed her.

Loke rushed forward to catch her as she no longer can stand, and they all circled her, all worried about her, all feeling sorry for her, and all disappointed that they couldn't protect her from what happened to her.

"Please Loke, take me out of here." He didn't hesitate in picking her up, walking towards the door only to be stopped by a barrier 'Only the Raijinshuu and Laxus are allowed to enter and leave'.

"Laxus!" Loke gritted his teeth.

"Evergreen is knocked out inside." Breathed Lucy.

"Got it. Virgo." He looked behind his shoulder to the said spirit.

"On it." Virgo disappeared and reappeared with Evergreen thrown on her shoulder, they all passed with Evergreen and then dumped her at the steps.

Arriving home, Loke put Lucy down on her couch, she was in hysterics, sobbing for her dear life, that she didn't think of dear now.  
"What happened Princess?" asked Virgo shyly.

"I don't deserve to be called Princess, not after what happened." She hiccupped.

"What happened Lucy?" Aquarius asked, for the first time in her life, softly. She has never seen the blonde like this, never seen her so broken, so tired, as if giving the opportunity, she would give up her life only to be able to rest from this misery.

She relayed to them what happened, she wanted someone to know, because after three days, and after what happened to her, she wanted someone who she can trust, someone she'd be able to lean on, and most importantly, someone not from the guild.

So she told them everything from the beginning, from where Laxus asked for her help, only to find out it was a trap to drive her away from the guild and get her to be alone, then to him telling her his plans, then to him defiling her. By the end of her story, they were all livid, and forbade her to stay alone, and after Loke got the permission from the king that at least one of them stays with her, he volunteered first.

"Master Makarov needs to know."

"No Loke!"

"What why?"

"I don't want anyone to know what happened to me." She said looking away.

"But Lucy-"

"You can go and tell him about his grandson's plans, but not about what he did to me. Please Loke."

"Understood." Loke accepted what she said, he didn't agree on it though, but the broken look on her face made him stay put, he wasn't going to leave her like this, not with so much negativity going through her mind.

"I'll go tomorrow."

"Okay."

He'll go tomorrow, what could happen in a day?

"Let's get you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry, I'm just going to take a shower."

She didn't make room for him to object, rushing to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. He sighed, all he wanted was to storm to Laxus' place and kick his ass, but he couldn't, because her safety is much more important than revenge at the moment, he sighed again and went to prepare her bed for her, and maybe make a small meal to eat, she hadn't eaten anything except for what Evergreen brought her, and it was usually always a piece of bread. Meanwhile, Lucy was in the bathroom, scrubbing herself really hard that her skin started to bleed, doing so to wash away his scent, the feel of his hands on her body, how he hit her sometimes to make her keep quiet. The tears started again, but can someone blame her?

Meanwhile, back with Laxus, Freed and Bickslow, they all arrived home to the scene of Evergreen lying on the doorstep to the house. Quickly checking if she was alright, Freed and Bickslow carried her back inside, while Laxus searched the whole house for Lucy, but found her nowhere, he searched his desk, found the drawer empty, went into the room she was staying in, found the glass shards on the floor and concluded what happened, she knocked out Evergreen and left.

Storming back to his living room, where the rest were sitting, he looked at Evergreen disapprovingly, like why didn't she give her a plastic plate? He didn't say anything though, because Evergreen looked pissed, and he didn't want to come in her way. Blondie just made some interesting enemies.

"Boss man, what do we do now? She knows everything."

Bickslow was right, she really does. So that only left one choice.

"We give her no time to do anything, I don't think she would be in the mental state to anyway, but we don't risk it. The Battle of Fairy Tail commences tomorrow."

They all nodded and went to prepare for their fights, while Laxus sat in his living room and thought about the events of the last three days, his memory was foggy, sometimes he remembers stuff he could never do, and sometimes he forgets stuff completely. He feels as if he did something terribly wrong, but has no memory of it, and he can't ask the others, they have been giving him the cold shoulder, and he doesn't know why. They still obey what he says though, so he doesn't understand what's wrong. And where does Blondie fit in all of this? He doesn't know. All he remembers was that he kept her captive, because of… 'Because of what exactly did I keep her here?' thought Laxus.

XXX

The next morning, Loke waited for Virgo to arrive before leaving to the guild to report to Makarov what happened. Once she opened her gate, he went taking the usual route. Just as he reached the guildhall's doors, chaos erupted, and then began the battle of Fairy Tail.

Lucy woke up to the sounds of fighting and yelling outside her apartment and she knew, they were too late. She quickly got up and got dressed, grabbed a hold of her keys and whip before being stopped by Virgo.

"Virgo you need to let me go."

"Hime, I cannot."

"Virgo, you don't understand, this is my fault." Lucy could barely breathe, if she let Loke tell Master yesterday this wouldn't have happened, the fighting right now wouldn't be happening, everything right now woul-

"Hime, it is anything but your fault, you dealt with a very tragic accident last night and you need to rest, so please get back to bed."

The blonde lowered her head, and whispered "I'm sorry Virgo."

Before the said spirit can react, Lucy took out her key and chanted "Force gate closer, Virgo!"

The spirit before her faded, and Lucy ran out the door, just before it closed, she heard a strangled 'Hime!', she ran out crying, this was her fault, she could have prevented it, and she didn't because she only thought of herself, how selfish could she be?

As she ran in the streets, she all but found mages from the guild she loved, mages who call themselves family, fighting each other, knocking out each other, crying while fighting. She felt as if her soul was detached from her.

Just before she rounded the corner, a green beam of light shot her way but she quickly evaded it by jumping away from it, she looked up and breathed "Bickslow".

"Cosplayer" he responded.

"Have you not done enough already, what more do you want?" she raged at him, he was there and he didn't stop Laxus from doing what he did, he simply looked away. A look of shame swam through his eyes, but the blonde couldn't see it because of his visor, he really doesn't want to do this, but to save his boss, he has too, he will do all he could to save Laxus, even fighting this girl in front of him, he was guilty indeed, of a lot of things, but if he could save his friend, he would do the impossible, he has been giving him the cold shoulder when this was not even his fault.

He simply started the fight and didn't say anything, afraid that his voice will crack, that the truth will flow from him in front of her, he couldn't let that happen, so he decided to finish this once and for all, "Baryon Formation."

As the spell made its way towards Lucy, she reached for her keys only to find they weren't there, one of his totems must have took her keys. Just before the spell hit, she felt someone carry her and jump out of the way.

"You are really the stupidest girl I have ever had as a master."

"Thanks Loke."

He put her down and handed her the keys, "Found them flying around. Now is he our opponent?"

"Yes he is."

"Then let me take him out."

"Let's" Lucy cracked her whip beside her, "I'm fighting right beside you."

He looked at her, how can he ever stay mad at her "Let's."

And the fight started, and ended with Lucy coming out of it victorious, then the thunder palace happened, and for whatever reason, the lightning in the lacrima hadn't hurt her one bit. The battle was over with Fairy Tail winning. There were a lot of people injured, mages non mages alike, so for the rest of the day Lucy helped nursing them back to health, helping them with rebuilding their houses, she did all she could to take her mind of what happened just last night.

The next day at the guild, Laxus walked in and went straight for his gramps's office.

His gramps couldn't even look him in the eye, ashamed of him that it was evident from only his aura. The master was really sad that while he was fighting for his life, his only family, his grandson didn't even care about the fact that he was on the brink of death.

"Do you realize what you have done? How many lives you put in danger with this stunt of yours?"

Laxus hang his head low, ashamed, partly because he couldn't remember what he had done, but he knew it was something horrible, he knew from the looks the guild members gave him when he entered that it was his fault, but how can he say that to his grandfather, the master of this guild, the guild he apparently hurt. He knew what his fate was, and he waited for the words.

"You are excommunicated from the guild." His gramps had his back facing him while he said it, and Laxus could smell the scent of salt, right before he walked out the door, he called out to his gramps "Take care of yourself jiji." And left. He heard the strangled cries and sobs coming from his gramps's room but nevertheless continued his way.

On his way out, the Raijinshuu tackled him, "Laxus take us with you." Screamed Freed.

"No Freed, you guys need to stay here." They started begging him to let them go with him, and he denied their efforts "You three need to stay here and help the guild." That was the last thing he said before he left, and somehow, his teammates knew, that Laxus was free, and that he will be alright.

Walking out of the Fantasia parade, tears flowing down his face, the image of his gramps and all of Fairy tail doing the sign he created embedded in his mind. All of Fairy tail but one, Blondie.

XXX

Lucy lay on her bed, lifeless.

Her mind would always go back there, back to him, and she didn't know why.

All she wanted to do was forget what happened, forget what he did, what she lost. She didn't notice the tears that cascaded down her face, but a passerby did, and this passerby had a really good nose and good ears too, he could hear the hiccups and sobs coming from her apartment.

What should he do? He of all people, the one who beat her down and tortured her, can he really comfort her? But the way she accepted him in the guild after what happened, the way she would greet him and have small chats with him sometimes, he was still adapting to this kindness, all his life he was treated miserably, and now he was being treated with kindness, not by all the guild though, but from her he is, and at the very least he should repay that kindness that she showed him.

Walking up the stairs he didn't know what to do or say once he reached her door. And once he did, he decided the best thing would be to knock, just as he was about he heard her talking to someone.

"Loke, I feel dirty and used… I can't help but keep seeing him right in front of me, about to force himself again." She cried in his lap.

"Lucy… he is gone, Laxus is gone, was kicked out of the guild."

Gajeel' eyes flew wide open, 'Laxus did WHAT!?' He slowly stepped away from the door and left, he needed to talk with master tomorrow, and if the information he brought before wasn't enough, added to this, the master will likely turn murderous.

It was 2:00 am and Lucy couldn't sleep, she sat by her window, and stared at the night sky, at the stars that shone brighter than usual. Today, she did something she never thought would do, she lied to her team, told them she was still tired and injured from the fight, when really she wasn't at all, the master let her out of the parade and she didn't know why, maybe he could see the despair in her eyes, the pain and sadness.

A tear rolled by and she quickly wiped it away, looked out the window and did the fairy tail sign, sticking her thumb and index finger in the form of an L, pointing it to the stars. They say someone important to the guild invented this sign so she thought it might be the master or the ones before. They say that the meaning of this sign is that wherever you are, you will always be looked over and watched for, and remembered, so she did this sign, for her spirits, that she will always be there for them, just like they are doing to her now. At this moment, the stars shone brighter. She didn't know that the one who invented the sign is the same one who hurt her, and the same one who was watching her right now, as she did what he created, sadness seeped from him at the sight of her broken state. For whatever reason, walking away from her was proven to be the hardest thing to do, and he didn't know why he felt as if he had to see her before he left. He took one last glance, and started walking, feeling as if his soul is being ripped away piece by piece as he walked further.

'I'm sorry Blon-Lucy, for whatever I have seemed to have done to you.'

But Laxus didn't know, that sorry isn't enough for what he did.

XXX

"Are you sure of this?"

"Yes master."

The next day, Gajeel went and relayed all the information he had to the master, except for what he heard about Lucy, deciding that this is her secret and that he would help her through it, if she liked it or not, because no matter how much he denies it, his dragon took her as kin, so she was now more than nakama to him. She was family.

"So you are telling me that my son, Ivan, controlled Laxus, his son by a shadow to overtake Fairy tail from the inside?"

"Yes."

"And that when he evoked Fairy Law, the shadow in Laxus died?"

"Yes, he seemed as if he woke up a bit, but it was too late because the dragon was in control, not him."

"What about the Raijinshuu?"

"They knew but were threatened that if they spilled Laxus would die."

The master took a deep breath in "Are you sure about this?"

The man before him nodded "My resources are trustable." True, Gajeel knew his ways with shady people, and he was the best in obtaining information, with his good hearing.

He signaled Gajeel out, because he felt that if he talked, Magnolia would disappear from existence, his hands were shaking with rage, how could Ivan, treat his son like this? First he shoves a dragon lacrima behind his eye, and now controls him to hurt people. For a split second, he felt a bit happy, because that meant that his grandson was innocent, but maybe it was still early to call him back, he could use the time away to become better.

Master looked out the window 'I'm sorry my boy, I should have known. I hope wherever you are, you are safe.'

XXX

Lucy heard the knock on her door. That's weird she told everyone that she was sick and she wasn't coming, and when Natsu protested and demanded he comes with her, she made him promise to not follow her home if when she felt better she would go on a mission with him. So the person outside the door must not be from the guild, it could only be a random person, so if she kept quiet the person would go away.

"I can smell you, I know that you are here, open up Bunny."

She froze, she knows that voice. The man who tortured her and then a few days later walks in the guild and she welcomes him, because she knew he changed, he never apologized for what he did, but little things he did showed that he wished for forgiveness, such as sometimes buying her milkshakes, talking with her, greeting her. Gajeel didn't do any of this stuff with her guild mates, well except Levy.

She came to the door, held the door knob in her hand, and took a deep breath, 'No, not today.' She retracted her hand from the knob "Sorry Gajeel I'm busy now." She wasn't ready to face anyone who's from the guild, and especially a dragon slayer.

"Bunny… I know."

She looked up quickly, "What do you mean?" she choked out, he couldn't possibly mean about that.

"You know what I mean."

She flung the door open, her tears cascading her face, her red eyes burning from how much she cried, and the bags evident under her eyes "How?"

He came in and she moved from the door to let him, then closed the door behind him.

"Sit down, we have a lot to talk about." Gajeel said looking at her with sorrowful eyes.

_After an hour…_

"SO YOU ARE TELLING ME I CANNOT EVEN HATE MY RAPIST BECAUSE HE IS AS MUCH OF A VICTIM AS I AM!" the blonde raged. It was just what she needed! she was fine with blaming him, with saying that he was an asshole because that made her feel better, but now how could she when he was just as much of a victim as she was?

And what kind of father does that? Somehow, she pitied him, and now all she could feel was empty, he did what he did, but he wasn't conscious about it, and she couldn't hate him for what happened, because it wasn't his fault. So where does she go from here? How can she heal from this?

For the first time in his life, Gajeel did not know what the hell to do, the girl was crying with her hands covering her face, and he had no idea of how to comfort her, so he did the only thing he could do, he pat her head.

Lucy removed her hands from her face and looked at him, still petting her but looking straight ahead, so she accepted it as a form of comfort and used it to feel better, at least a bit.

"What do I do now Gaj?"

"Who the hell is GAJ?!" he bristled.

The blonde let out a sad giggle and whispered"Your nickname of course, you call me Bunny, it's only fair."

He grumbled something under his breath, but otherwise remained silent. After a while he broke the silence that Lucy was starting to enjoy "I don't know, but I'm here."

She looked at him, couldn't believe her ears. Was she imagining things? He looked at her and chuckled "I can be sorta nice."

"You don't say." The blonde was so shocked she couldn't think straight. But all that though rushed out of her as she felt her stomach churn and she leaped for the bathroom to vomit once again this day. Seriously what was happening to her?

**A/N:**

**I have to say, that rape is not something to take light off. It is a serious crime, and leaves a deep scar on a person, so please if that has ever happened to you, please talk to someone about it, and get help!**

**I also have to note that this is a fanfiction, not a true story, and in this they were both victims, so please don't think light of the situation.**

**And for my other story, I just got a new laptop because my old one crashed, and it still has all the data saved on it, and I still haven't gotten it back, the moment I do though, I will continue the other story, and you will know what happened with Bunny Lucy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 2**

Sunrays shone from the curtain and showered the sleeping blonde with warm and soft light. The blonde groaned and started stirring until she felt a sickening feeling and bolted straight to the bathroom. It has been going like this for a week, every day she throws up, she started to look thinner because she was barely eating, and paler.

A knock was heard coming from her living room, she shouted a coming, and rinsed her mouth then went and opened the door.

"You look like shit Bunny."

"And good morning to you too Gaj."

He growled at her while walking past her and into the kitchen. A week passed by and he still hasn't approved of the nickname.

"Are you gonna come to the guild today?" he asked, it has been a while since she went to the guild, every day she would wake up worse than the day before so he hadn't let her out of her apartment and begged her to go to the doctor but never once had she accepted.

"I don't think I can handle goi-", thump.

"Bunny?" no answer.

He rushed back to the living room to find Lucy on the floor out cold. He grabbed her and started shaking her "Bunny, hey Bunny wake up. Shit!" he picked her up, grabbed her keys and bolted out the door shutting it behind him.

He ran straight to a doctor he got to know, one who lived in the forest. As he ran the people stared at him weirdly and made a path for him once they saw he was carrying someone.

Once he reached the cabin he knocked on her door.

"Go away!"

"Old hag I need your help here." Pounded Gajeel on her door.

She opened it ready to smack the intruder with her broom, until she saw the girl in his arms and made way to him.

"Put her on the bed over there." She ordered him and he laid the blonde gently on the bed.

"What happened?" she asked while she went to check the blonde's pulse.

"We were talking normally and then suddenly she blacked out." He breathed, he would not admit to anyone but he was worried sick.

"And you haven't noticed the fact that she is pale and unhealthy thin?!" snapped the old pink haired woman glaring at the iron dragon slayer.

"I did and I begged her to see a doctor but she wouldn't accept."

She averted her glare from him and back to the blonde her gaze softened. As she ran tests on the blonde, the slayer sat back and didn't say anything.

When she finished, Porlyusica turned to the slayer and muttered "Well congratulations your girlfriend seems pregnant."

Gajeel fell from his chair at that comment "W-what? Are you sure?" he stammered.

"Are you doubting my medical abilities you imbecile dragon?" the old woman snarled at him.

"No, no, it's just she's not my girlfriend, and I am not the father." The words rushed out of Gajeel' mouth.

"Hmm, okay well the baby is feeding off of her magical containers and because she is not getting rest nor eating well, her containers are not filling up."

"So all she needs is food and rest? But she wasn't able to get nutriments because she keeps throwing up her food."

"I will give her some vitamins and herbs that will help her rest. Now grab her and get out of here, your smell is disturbing." Growled Porlyusica.

"But the vitamins…"

"I will get them for you."

Gajeel went and picked Lucy up, then headed for the door. He waited for the old hag to come back. He heard footsteps behind him and turned "Tell her to come see me every first Monday of the month, and if anything happens to come to me." She handed him a basket which he took and kicked him out of her house.

Once he reached her house, he set her on her bed and went to prepare her some food before the door flew open and in barreled team Natsu ready to kill.

"What happened to Luce?" screeched Natsu.

"Shut up you idiot she is sleeping." Whispered angrily Gajeel.

"What are you doing here Gajeel?" questioned Titania.

The rest of the team looked at him up and down, and Gajeel felt as if he was being accused of something, his day was so messed up and he really could not handle her crazy team at the moment.

"He helped me." Rasped a voice from behind them.

They all turned to see Lucy sitting upright on her bed, she looked tired and ready to sleep, but she still managed to smile at them, a small smile that they all were relieved to see, but a tinge of sadness lingered in it that only one person was able to notice.

"I blacked out and he was near, so he must have sensed it and helped me." She assured them.

"Oh" Natsu looked at Gajeel "Thanks man." He smiled goofily at him.

"Right… look Bunny needs to rest so you guys can check up on her tomorrow." He tried to kick them out politely, this week with Lucy surely turned him soft.

"But wait you are going to stay here?" Erza narrowed her eyes at him "Alone with her?"

"Erza-"

"What is your point Scarlet?" growled Gajeel.

"I mean-"

"Erza" Lucy raised her voice "He is helping me and was there with me at the doctor's place, so that's why he is staying."

They send him glances that promised pain if he did anything wrong and then left.

"It's amazing." He smirked bitterly.

"What is?" questioned the blonde.

"How they talk people into family and forgiveness while they can't even do that."

"That's not true." She quickly said, she didn't like how they treated him tonight but surely they forgave him. It was just because they were worried about her.

"It's true for everyone but you and a few Bunny." He walked into her kitchen leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"No you're wrong, it's not true for me." Lucy whispered "Because I still haven't forgiven what he did, nor did I forget."

"But you will." He said.

"And so will they." She looked up at him through misty eyes. She sniffled and asked "So what happened?"

"Why don't you tell me?" he sat in front of her.

"Hmm, what are you talking about?" she looked at him confused.

"Why did you refuse to go see a doctor? Why weren't you taking care of yourself properly? Now I know that you weren't able to eat, even more the reason to go to a doctor."

She lowered her head and her bangs covered her face.

Gajeel waited for her to answer and then his eyes averted to the floor and he mumbled "Because you already knew. You knew what was going on with you." He sighed and put his head in his hands.

"If I went to a doctor's" he looked at her "Then it's true" a splash of water fell on her hand "The fact that I'm pregnant becomes a reality that right now is so hard for me to confront."

And this night, Gajeel held her like he did all the other nights she cried herself to sleep the past week.

The next morning, Gajeel woke up, went and prepared a breakfast for Lucy, wrote her a note, and then left her apartment.

The blonde woke up to an empty house, so she got up and headed for the bathroom, on her way there she noticed the breakfast and the note, so she went and read its contents:

_Bunny, eat and take the vitamins, I will be back later today._

Of course he would make her food and leave a note, because that is just the Gajeel she knows. She but not the others.

She showered and ate her food, then she took the medicine and brewed some herbs to drink. Surprisingly today she is feeling better, so maybe she will go to the guild.

She got up and threw on some normal clothes, then left.

Walking beside the canal she had the idea of jumping on it, but then remembered that she was pregnant and she couldn't do that. She has to start being careful. Because she decided that even though she is a mess right now, the baby did nothing wrong, it wasn't the baby's fault.

She reached the guild and the door slammed open revealing a pink haired dragon slayer running to greet her. Just before he reached her, he readied himself to tackle her to the ground but an iron club in the back stopped him.

"Watch it Pyro she is still sick." Growled Gajeel behind him, he then went and greeted the blonde.

"What are you doing?" he asked sincerely worried while Natsu looked confused as ever.

"I felt better so I decided to come and maybe pick a small job."

Natsu perked up at the word job and he was up on his feet in no time, "Yo Luce you wanna go on a mission?"

"Um Natsu I want a small job, nothing too big or dangerous." The blonde looked petrified at the thought of going with Natsu on a mission.

"She is coming with me salamander so deal with it, come on Bunny I already got a job."

He led her on the road leaving behind him a dejected pink haired dragon slayer.

"Sorry Natsu, maybe another time." Smiled the blonde reassuringly.

"Yeah sure." He smiled goofily back at her and then went inside the guild.

Once they were a safe distance away, the iron dragon slayer stopped and turned to face her "Listen I know that this is hard for you, but seriously what are you going to do about jobs?"

The blonde sighed and looked at him "I don't know, I guess take small peaceful jobs."

"So no team Natsu missions." He stated and continued walking.

"Wait what?! But they are my team." She followed after him.

"Also the most destructive team this city has ever known."

Lucy pondered his idea to find it made perfect sense, but then these people are her nakama, even though she hasn't been treating them properly.

"You are right, plus I need to start saving money for the baby, and how am I supposed to pay rent if I can't go on missions anymore? On good paying missions? Oh my god what am I supposed to do? Gajeel how am I supposed to take care of two people if I can barely take care of one?" Lucy panicked and started hyperventilating.

"Okay Bunny calm down I will help you. For somewhere to stay I have the perfect place for you, just calm down and take deep breaths." He assured her while rubbing circles on her back.

The blonde took a few deep breaths and calmed down. She needed to think clearly, and she did just that then turned to Gajeel.

"Okay I will work my ass off these two coming months, I shouldn't be showing, and maybe then I will…" Lucy trailed off and her gaze distanced.

"Maybe you will…?"

"Take a leave absence." She admitted.

The slayer was taken aback, and he wanted to disagree with her but he couldn't, because to an extent he understood what she meant by it.

"How long?"

"Three to four years." She said gazing at the streets in front of them.

"The time will cover the birth of the baby and you taking care of him." He walked next to her.

"That's the plan." She sighed.

"I will help you."

She stopped walking and her gaze locked on his "You don't have to, you already did more than enough, and if you are worried about what you did to me back at-"

"That's not it!" he snapped "My dragon chose you as kin Lucy, no scratch that, the both of us did, and that means you are like a sister to me now, so I will help you anytime you need me too, and even if you didn't I will."

Lucy didn't know what to say, so she did the only thing she could think of, she hugged him tight.

"Damn it Bunny you and your hugs." Gajeel glared at the people that were staring at them.

"Shut it, you said I was your sister so that gives me the right since we are family."

Gajeel pondered her words, it was true he now had a real family, for dragons it was different and the same goes for the slayers, having a kin is similar to having a blood family, and now he had one, so ever so slowly, he raised his hands and returned the hug, this time ignoring the stares they were getting.

They broke apart and Gajeel looked at Lucy to see her beaming, maybe having this family was important for the both of them.

XXX

"Gaj where are we going?" asked the blonde, they were now traveling through the woods, Gajeel said something about a surprise.

"We are going home."

"Huh? What do you mean-" she gasped, the sight that greeted her was breathtaking. A small wooden cabin sat at the middle of a clearing and behind it was a lake.

"You like it?" he inquired.

"It's beautiful."

She looked at him "Is this where you live?"

"No this is where you do."

She looked at him with big eyes "No Gaj I couldn't possibly-"

"I bought this cabin a while ago, and I never stepped foot in it. It's sad to be left alone like that don't you think? Listen up Bunny, I really want to help you so just accept it."

Her eyes misted, her lip quivered, and before Gajeel can register what is happening, he was tackled to the ground by a crying blonde.

"God Gaj I wouldn't know what to do without you." The blonde cried harder.

"You and your hormones…" snickered Gajeel.

The blonde chuckled "You wanted to help, you just said so like 5 minutes ago."

"I did didn't I?" he smirked "Damn Bunny you sure have gotten heavier."

The blonde got up slowly off of him and glared at him "Redfox!"

Oh he knew this look, he was getting a Lucy kick to oblivion.

"Come on let's head inside."

That seemed to calm her down and she beamed at him. Following Gajeel in the house, the blonde was floored with the homey feeling this house gave off, and she just fell right in love.

The small kitchen that had all the necessities and a bar counter, a backdoor was to the left that led to a small garden, a wooden swing was placed in the middle of it. At the center of the cabin was a living room made of fluffy couches and a fireplace, a bookcase was set to the back of the wall that Lucy was going to examine later, next to it was the stairs that led to the second floor. A master bedroom with a private bathroom and a walk in closet, and a guestroom with a small bathroom attached to it, Lucy already started imagining how she was going to change in the house, but one thought still bothered her.

"Gaj where will you be staying?" the blonde asked.

"At Fairy Hills."

The blonde's face fell "Are you not going to stay with me?"

"Listen up Bunny, I really don't want to make you uncomfortable-"

"Nonsense Gaj, I literally feel the safest with you, I don't mind, in fact I would love to."

Gajeel couldn't describe what he was feeling after hearing her words, he felt so happy that she approved, maybe his dragon took her approval as in an approval of being a kin, and he liked that very much, so of course he accepted to stay with her, and together they worked on making the cabin clean and polished. Lucy called out Virgo to help them clean while Gajeel did all the heavy lifting.

XXX

"Are you sure about this?" asked Gajeel, he wanted to make sure she was set on her mind, that she wasn't having any second thoughts.

"Yes Gajeel, I have to do this." The blonde glanced at the slayer and gave him a firm nod. Gajeel believed her, but he also knew this was going to be hard on her, leaving her family for years is not going to be easy, but he understood why she needed to do this.

"Okay, I am with you Bunny."

"I know you are Gaj." She hugged him, and he hugged her back.

Right now they were on their way to the guild, and Lucy was ready to confront Makarov about her request of leave absence, and she was quite nervous. Just as she opened the guild doors with Gajeel beside her, she was called with her team to the master's office.

She snuck a look at Gajeel to see him going to sit with Levy, but somehow he sensed she was looking at him because he waved at her without looking her direction, and she was appreciative of this little display of support, so she gathered her courage and went up to the office.

At the door, her team was waiting for her,

"Hey Luce, yesterday I went to your apartment but you weren't there. In fact it was empty and it didn't smell like you at all." Natsu all but rushed the words out of his mouth, he felt that Lucy was hiding something from them and he didn't like that one bit.

"Ah, yes…" she was not ready for this, she hadn't told her team about her moving out of the apartment, she took the time they went on a weeklong mission to move out. Now that she was face to face with Natsu she didn't know what to say at all. Just as she was about to say something, the guild master's door opened and the master stood in front of them.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" he asked and the brats could easily see he was agitated and that did not bode well, this meant whatever this was, it was dangerous, and if it was dangerous for the team, then it was for the baby and Lucy dreaded that. Only if she was earlier to take her leave absence.

The team went in behind the master and the door was closed shut.

_Half an hour later…_

The blonde and her team walked out and she was on the verge of tears, she rushed past her team, grabbed Gajeel and rushed out of the guild. Gajeel wanted to protest and stop her but the smell of salt in the air refrained him from doing so, so he just let her drag him to the park where she stopped to catch her breath.

"What's wrong Bunny?" he asked, he was very worried of her wellbeing, and he doesn't know much about pregnancy and such but he damn well knew that wasn't healthy for the baby.

"I was chosen on a dangerous job."

He sucked in a breath, "what about?"

She explained to him how there was an alliance between three guild to stop the oracion seis, and when he heard the name he snapped. Gajeel heard of these people before, he did when he was working with Jose, and he didn't want her anywhere near them.

"What if I volunteered to go in your place?"

"And how will we explain this to master?"

He sighed, he didn't like this one bit, but he knew he didn't have a say in this, the master already took this decision and if he went to volunteer in her stead then they would have to explain why and Lucy didn't want the old man to know of what his grandson did, he already has a bad health.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I guess go with it, the money is good and I will make sure to stay close with the team so if anything happens I will be somewhere safe."

"When do you leave?"

"A week from now."

He nodded "Good, we start training tomorrow."

The blonde took a step back "T-training?"

"Yes, I am not gonna send you with salamander and let you be, he could be more fucking dangerous than them with his stupidity."

Lucy wanted to defend her nakama, but he knew he had a point, for with Natsu it always resulted in burnt clothes and destroyed buildings, so she can understand his concern. Concern, it's been a long time since she was cared for like that, it reminded her of her mother and she unconsciously hugged Gajeel.

"What now?" he asked as he hugged her back, she nuzzled in his embrace and breathed out a nothing. He was already used to her hugs and he'd be damned to admit that he actually loved her hugs, but these two didn't know that a little bluenette was watching them, quietly sniffling as she held her hand to her mouth, before looking away and walking off in another direction.

Ever since he first joined, she along with a few others welcomed him back. And after spending some time with him, she developed a tiny crush on him, and now to see him hugging her best friend broke her, she should have been smarter, her friend was a beautiful girl, and even though she feels self-conscious about her body, her friend didn't know how beautiful she is, and that made Levy a bit jealous, because she hated the thought that everything is going well with Lucy's life and she is left all alone, always in the shadows of another person and now when Gajeel gave her attention, she thought that maybe someone will notice her, but then his attention was ripped away from her to Lucy, and that made her a bit mad, but she couldn't help herself, no matter if Jet and Droy were with her, no matter if they smothered her with kindness, she only wanted one slayer's attention and she wasn't getting it.

Soon Lucy and Gajeel broke apart after Lucy was better, and decided to go eat.

XXX

"I am fucking done." Breathed out Lucy as she laid on top of the grass, enjoying the feel of the sun, and the smell of roses.

"Oi Bunny, get up, break is over."

Of course he had to ruin it. All morning long Lucy has been a training slave for Gajeel, because whenever she disagreed to do something he would make her run another lap across the huge field next to their house.

"I don't wanna." She whined.

He got closer to her and put his hand around his ear "What's that? Someone eager to ran another lap?"

She bolted upright and glared at him "You are evil!"

"Tell me something I don't know Bunny."

And so they continued training another hour before they finished for today and Lucy dreaded the other days she has to go through this.

As she was walking back, she was alone because Gajeel got called for from the master. The field was a bit far to their cabin, she heard a slight movement from behind her and she turned quickly only to find nothing, so she continued walking. Another noise and while turning back she caught the sight of someone behind a tree a bit far from her, she walked over there and stopped to take in the sight in front of her.

XXX

He was running from the magic council, he couldn't be caught, not right now, they were very close to their destination, but his stupid ass had to go bang the girl he saw with purple hair. And then all shit went down from there, the girl turned out to be a trainee for the magic rune knights, who was sent on a mission to seduce him and take his attention off as they stationed themselves to catch him.

And at this moment he thanked every deity there is for his magic power, for her soul turned thousand shades darker from her original lively one when they got the signal to move in on him, he fought them brutally, but they still managed to land a few strong hits on him, and the wound he got from the light magic ball this girl sent at him was now gushing with blood. So he sought out the woods to escape them but now he couldn't go on much longer, and he hated the thought that this was how he was going to die. He sat under a tree and waited for his time to come 'Nice going Cobra, dying because of a girl you wanted to bang, that turned out to be a trainee for the rune knights. Seriously these days they wonder why we don't trust anybody.' His eyelids started to seem heavy and started to close. Just before they did, he made out the shape of a person coming closer to him.

He tried to move away, to open his eyes and run from here, he couldn't handle being kept captive again, but a delicate hand on his bicep stopped him from moving, and the calmest voice said to him "Don't worry, I got you."

All he could think about before he blacked out 'Are you an actual angel?'

Lucy did not see this coming, the man was on the verge of death and he was mumbling something about how he almost banged a purple haired girl.

She got close to him and he seemed afraid so she did the only thing she thought of, she put her hand on his to give comfort and talked to him. When he blacked out, she called out Loke and together they got the man to the cabin, Lucy didn't know why but she felt safe around him.

Loke put him on the sofa before going back to his world so that Vigo can come and help Lucy bandage the man up. After they tended to his wounds they changed his clothes and laid him back on the sofa with a blanket draped over him. Lucy thanked Virgo for her help and the maid bowed before disappearing back to her world, Lucy then got up and took a communication lacrima Gaj brought her, and she ringed him.

"Is something wrong Bunny? And who the hell is that behind you?"

So she relayed to Gaj what happened and how she saw this man on her walk back home through the woods.

"You are way too kind for your own good woman! What if he was a criminal and when he wakes up he kills you?" Gajeel snapped at her.

Lucy knew he was right, but even if he was a criminal, he has the right to live. "So what Gaj, he deserves to live, I couldn't have left him to death, plus I don't know I don't feel like he is dangerous."

"You don't feel like he is _dangerous_?" he looked at her weirdly.

"Yes, it's kinda like how I felt about you. I don't know just hurry back home and be safe."

She shut it off and turned to the man, she brushed his hair from his forehead "Just what happened to you?" she whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 3**

Cobra woke up to the sweet aroma of bacon, he looked around him and didn't recognize where he is, until his eyes landed on a petite woman making the holy food, she was blonde with a killer body, he never knew someone like her but when he looked at her, for some unknown reason, his dragon purred.

That could only mean two things, she was either his mate or his kin, and since he didn't feel the need to go mark her, then it was the latter.

The blonde was humming a tune he never heard before, and when he took a sniff, the smell of bacon overtook his senses but another smell lingered in this house, another… dragon slayer.

He quickly got up on guard and without noticing, he bumped into a small wooden table resulting in making a squeak noise. The blonde turned to look at him, and he was stunned, for her deep brown eyes captivated him and made him feel a warmth that had him questioning all his life choices.

"Um, so I see you woke up." He was under a trance with only looking into her eyes, but now after hearing her angelic voice, he was captivated even more.

"Uh, yes thank you for taking care of me." HE THANKED HER?! Cobra needed to get out of here, he doesn't know what she did to him, but whatever it was it was dangerous because suddenly he became nice.

He went to walk for the door only to stop when pain hit him like a ton of waves and he fell to the floor clutching his stomach, the blonde rushed to his side and helped him up at once, he wanted to protest but to see the worry in her eyes stopped him from doing so, maybe he could enjoy the attention he was getting at the moment and let go of the rest.

She helped him to the sofa and let him down on it, then went to get him some food to eat. She came back moments later with a plate of bacon and eggs and some painkillers and set them in front of him.

He took a bite and held in the moan that was going to escape from his mouth, her cooking was pure bliss and he was seriously debating going back to the oracion seis, maybe he could fake an amnesia, that way he could stay here and in case the rune knights came here he would just say he doesn't remember anything. But he has another problem, the other slayer, he could smell his scent on the blonde but she wasn't marked nor did he smell the identification as mate so that means she is his kin.

"Are you enjoying the food?" she asked while looking at him with a smile on her face.

Looking at her Cobra was filled with warmth, he doesn't have much experience with this because never in his life he received this much kindness, so he was lost to what to say and he could only nod.

"So are you here alone?" he wanted to keep her talking because her voice was soothing him and her souls was like music to his ear. His eyes widened at that, 'Souls?'.

"No, I actually live with my brother here." She replied to his question, but he already knew that, but why say brother, he could smell they were not related, that means she knows that he is her kin, and she considers him a brother. Cobra was getting convinced more and more to tell her that she was as well his kin.

They continued to have small conversations until he saw the insignia on her hand, the Fairy Tail guild. This was going to be a problem.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked.

"About what?" she replied. Cobra wanted to be certain about doing this, because after this there was no going back, and he was about to ask her about his magic and if she would accept being his kin until he heard Brain's voice in his head.

"_Cobra where the hell are you?! I just got news that four guilds have made an alliance to stop our plan, get your fucking ass back here."_

He grimaced _"Do you know which guilds?"_. To speak the truth he didn't want to know the answer.

"_Does it fucking matter?"_

"_Yes it does so answer the fucking question."_

"_Blue Pegasus, Cat Shelter, Lamia Scale and I think the last one is this rambunctious guild Fairy Tail."_

He should have known, for people like him, life would never work out. He took a deep breath and let it out. He looked at the blonde who looked at him worriedly.

"Are you okay sir?" he looked at her eyes, listened to her soul, it was sincere. But he couldn't take that risk.

"No I'm not, and neither will you be." He let out a small poison only to knock her out and not do any other damage.

The blonde's eyes widened and she looked at him, whispering a "But why?" before passing out, he caught her before she hit the floor and laid her on the couch.

"Because you are way too good to be real, at least for someone like me." He said as he looked back at her, slowly he made his way to the door and left.

"_I'm on my way Brain."_

XXX

Gajeel was walking back home when he felt it, the small tingling feeling he felt whenever something was wrong and that could only mean one thing.

'Lucy!'

He ran back home and got to the cabin to see the door open and a weird smell lingered there. He ran to the door and looked inside to find the blonde passed out on the couch, he went beside her and started to softly shake her.

"Oi Bunny wake up."

She started stirring and ever so slowly, she opened her eyes, only to stare into red furious, worried eyes.

"What. the. hell. happened?" he growled out.

"Uhhh, I don't know if I should tell you what happened." She looked fearful at him, he relaxed a bit and sat next to her.

"Okay, I will try as much as I can to stay calm."

"That's not very reassuring Gaj." She deadpanned.

"What why?" he looked taken aback by her answer, he was a very patient person.

"Because the last time I heard that from you, the next day I heard the news about the damaged forest near the mountains."

"And what does that has to do with me?"

"The forest was damaged because of the weird shaped iron that came out from the dirt, and can you imagine the number of it?!"

He looked away and scratched the back of his neck "You went and saw it?"

She nodded, "And imagine my surprise when it took the form of the guy who was trying to hit on me."

He sighed and looked back at her "Did you see the one on the tree? I had great pleasure doing that."

She looked thoughtful for a bit and then lighted up "Oh you mean the one where his intestines were being held by his own hands? That was really cool, I didn't know you can do that in iron."

"Well it takes an artist to do that. Oh and did you hear what happened to the guy?"

"You mean the fact that he left town?"

"Yes, in my opinion he shouldn't have come at you like that."

She looked at him weirdly "Are you serious?, he just said 'hey you have a nice body, wanna hang?' and before I knew it there is a huge forest dedicated to ways of skinning him, killing him, butchering him and so on."

He looked away and then back at her "Enough changing the subject, tell me what happened."

And she relayed to him what happened this day, at the end of it he looked thoughtful for a bit.

"So you are telling me you saw fangs like the ones I have? And he had a scar on his face? And he let out a poison like substance?" he asked, he wanted to confirm his suspicion, and if it was true, hell will be brought on earth.

"Yes, but he seemed weird. And I felt very safe with him I don't know why he did what he did."

"What do you mean weird?"

"Like for a couple of minutes, his eyes fogged. I don't know what that means."

Gajeel admitted that was weird, maybe it wasn't the person he was thinking of. But nevertheless he decided he will follow with his plan and follow the team when they go on their mission.

"Bunny, promise me you won't do that again, if not for yourself then for your baby."

Gajeel was out to trick her, but he didn't care. Lucy noticed that, promising him will tie her to her words, he knows the importance of her promises, and she hated him for that, but he was right, the baby was a priority.

"I promise Gaj."

XXX

"Where the hell were you Cobra?" fumed Brain from his seat.

"Banging a purple haired girl." He said ever so naturally, he had to be careful for Brain could use telepathy.

"You and your purple preference, what is up with that?" asked Angel as she looked at her nails.

"Well I see it's better than white heads."

She growled at him "Don't make me bring out Gemini on your ass."

He smirked at her "Bring it, you and I both know you would be out cold before you even call them out."

"Enough!" intervened Brain between the both of them "Go see your snake Cobra, she has been whining all day long."

He turned back and walked away from them. Cobra went to his room and saw that Cubellios was sulking on his bed.

"Get up girlie, I'm home."

She beamed at him and rushed to hug him, as in smother him with wrapping her tail around his body and crushing him.

"Yeah yeah, I missed you too." He pat her on the head and laid down on his bed. This was a long day and it was still noon. A couple of minutes later he was called into a meeting to discuss the problem that is the alliance the guilds made to stop them.

They made it to Brain's office, aka the cave they were staying at…

"So, I hope everyone heard about the alliance against us?" asked Brain as he eyed his mages.

They all nodded their heads, "Then I hope you all also heard about the plan to ambush them?"

Everyone nodded their heads except for Cobra, "Ambush them?"

Brain looked at Cobra "Ah yes, you were busy fucking a girl to notice me giving out instructions of the plan. They are going to meet up at Blue Pegasus's guild house, Angel is going to infiltrate them and take out the big guy Jura, got info that he is coming. And we will lead them to get at a rendez-vous where we will meet up and face them together to get rid of them once and for all. Understood?"

Cobra clenched his teeth and only nodded, he could only hope that the blonde doesn't come with them.

XXX

Lucy was now fending herself from the three males of Blue Pegasus that are flirting with her. They are supposed to meet up with the guilds at the guild house of Blue Pegasus, but she was not prepared for what happened when they came in.

Music played in, roses were thrown out and the hell with all that perfume?! Next thing she knew, she was going from a guy to another and all are either asking her on a drink or a massage or something else, and then a forth guy came in sliding on the stairs and straight at Erza, but he got kicked to the face by the one and only Titania.

The rest of the guilds came in and it was a shock to see Lyon and Sherry, and it was even more of a shock to find out that Cat Shelter send out one little girl, called Wendy Marvell with her exceed Charle, the girl turned out to be a sky dragon slayer.

Of course Natsu had to run off and chase a smell and now there they are face to face with all the oracion seis members in front of them. But there was something weird, there was one of them that was trying to hide himself behind his snake.

"_Cobra, the fuck are you doing?"_

"_Just checking to see if Cubellios had any injuries."_

"_Focus you fucking idiot."_

"_Yes sir."_

He got out from behind his snake only to send her straight at Erza, Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, and before she knew what is happening, Erza was down on the floor screaming in pain, and Wendy was being taken away.

She held on to Wendy while the rest went to Erza.

"Hold on Wendy." She said as she tightened her grip on the girl's hands.

"I'M TRYING." Wendy shouted and before Lucy could comprehend what is happening, she was thrown across the field and she anticipated crashing into a hard tree, but she felt something warm on her back and heard a crash.

"Damn Bunny, are you alright?"

She turned around and saw Gajeel in his iron form, then she hugged him while she cried "You idiot are you alright?"

"Oi Bunny, who you calling an idiot?" he said as he hugged her back.

She wiped away her tears and looked around, right now there was only Erza and Hibiki, who ran towards her to check if she was alright.

"Lucy-san are you alright?" he asked as he helped her up.

"Yes I am thank you for your help."

Gajeel looked at her with a hard glare, which Lucy returned with an eye roll "and you too Gaj."

"Damn it Bunny how many times have I told you not to call me that?!" he bristled as he helped himself up.

"Later Gaj now we have more suppressing matters, where are the others?" she turned to Hibiki and asked.

"Natsu went after Cobra, the man with the snake, Lyon and Gray went after Racer, and the rest I am trying to find out with my archive magic."

"Okay that's great I know exactly where I am going to go." She said as she pushed past him only to collide with a hard chest.

"And where is that Bunny?" he asked, his red eyes boring into her soul.

"To wherever the hell Cobra is."

He laughed, Gajeel laughed like a maniac while Lucy tapped her foot "Are you a fucking idiot? That ass can kill you in a second."

"He won't." she went up in his face.

"And how are you so sure he won't? Because last time he drugged you and left you unconscious, if I fucking remember correctly." He was on the verge of ripping something, the need to protect his kin was taking control over him and he needed to find that ass and kill him for what he did to Bunny.

"Because Gaj, remember when you told me that I am your kin?" she looked into his eyes, that turned a shade darker of red, and tried to calm him down. He nodded and she continued.

"I felt something, a light and warm feeling that tingled my soul, and I felt the same thing with him, I felt safe."

His eyes widened, 'you have got to be kidding me?! Leave it to Bunny to be everyone's fucking kin.'

"I'm coming with you."

"I can take that."

Hibiki was on the sidelines staring between the both of them, dumbfounded by whatever the hell that was happening. He was shocked but he got back to his head when two tender fingers snapped in front of him. He looked at Lucy and Gajeel who is standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, Hibiki figured that he never won a fight with the blonde. "Yes?"

"Can you help us find where Natsu is please?" her sweet voice, her doe eyes, had Hibiki almost drooling, but a growl from the slayer behind her snapped him awake "Yes sure just give me a second, I will put his location in your mind."

"Okay thanks Hibiki." She clapped her hands together and turned to look at Gajeel, only to see the scowl on his face. She rolled her eyes at his child antics and came close to his ear "For the love of god, don't ruin another forest."

He smirked down at her while she winked up at him "Can't make promises Bunny."

Suddenly the location of Natsu appeared in her head and both her and Gajeel took off after Lucy thanked Hibiki.

XXX

Angel stood in front of her with a key in hand, while Gajeel was lurking in the bushes. When Gajeel sensed that someone was ahead they agreed on this little trick, for Lucy to go first and for Gajeel to be the element of surprise, but she didn't imagine that her opponent was going to be a celestial mage, a one that abuses her spirits at that.

And she discovered the hard way that she cannot call Loke nor Aquarius, for Angel had both Scorpio and Aries. And now Angel was fending herself with Caelum, a spirit that can be used both as a shield and a weapon. Suddenly Lucy got an idea, she slowly got up from the river they were fighting in, she was kind of low on magic, but she will be able to do it, there is no other choice, she was training with Gajeel for a whole week to be able to do it.

"I hope you are ready Gaj." She shouted as she brought her hands together and closed her eyes, Angel took a step back "What the hell is she doing?" the funny thing was that Gajeel was thinking the same thing, from the tree he was sitting on, but then he understood what she meant, and he only hoped for it to work. He closed his eyes and relied on his other senses.

A small light began circling Lucy and her body began to emit a soft light, before she opened her arms and shouted "SHINE!", a bright light covered the area they were fighting in and Angel covered her eyes. Slowly the light faded and Angel began to open her eyes until she heard "Iron dragon roar!" she opened her eyes wide and her vision was still blurry, she didn't see the spell coming her way and got sent back into a tree, resulting in knocking her out.

Lucy fell on her knees and began coughing, in a second Gajeel was near her "Don't do that again alright?" he picked her up and went after Natsu.

"Oh please it was fucking amazing let me have my fucking moment." Lucy said as she nuzzled in his embrace.

He looked at her then let out a booming laugh "I feel like I'm rubbing off on you Bunny."

She let a small giggle "Well I have to say you are quite the bad influence."

"Oi Bunny, watch it or I will drop you."

She laughed as Gajeel started muttering something about ungrateful people. Truly without Gajeel she wouldn't be able to pull off what she did, to get your magic out of your body then suck it in, is a risk that at times can lead to your death if you didn't know when to suck it back in.

XXX

Natsu was in the air thanks to Happy, fighting against the poison dragon slayer, that was Cobra, who was at the moment flying on his snake.

Natsu was frustrated that he wasn't able to land a hit on his opponent. Just as he was about to attack, a blinding light enveloped the area ahead of them, and the feeling felt so warm he instantly knew who emitted it, but Cobra was just drawn to this light, and he stood on his snake staring at it. Natsu took his chance and landed a punch on the guy that made him lose balance and fall on the cliff.

Sure it was a cheap shot, but Natsu was going to take it. Happy dropped him on the ground and he barreled towards Cobra at high speed readying one of his spells until he was pushed back by Cobra's roar and off the cliff he went. Happy screamed and flew at max speed to catch him, but his magic was low and he couldn't keep it up much.

Cobra stood satisfied on the cliff, till something like a rope flew beside him and attached itself to the fire dragon slayer's foot and pulled him back.

He looked back and he saw the blonde with a whip in hand, beside her the slayer that he smelled in the cabin. The blonde retracted the whip and in front of her crashed Natsu to the ground.

He looked up at her with a toothy grin "Thanks Luce. Eh Gajeel what are you doing here?"

Gajeel sighed beside her and muttered "And you wonder why I worry."

"LUSHIEEEEEEEE" Happy flew straight to Lucy's chest and hugged her "Thank god you are here." He sobbed on her chest while she hugged him and soothed him "It's alright Happy I'm here."

She looked back at Cobra to see him have a look of longing in his eyes, but he quickly masked it once he saw her looking at him. He readied himself and Gajeel stood protectively in front of her "Go I will take care of this."

"But Gajeel the whole point for me to come here was for me to talk to him."

"Look at him, does he look like he wants to talk?"

She looked back at him and he smirked at her "Guess I should've killed you back then Blondie."

Her eyes widened at his comment while Gajeel growled, but she shook her head, she somehow knew it wasn't right, but she let Gajeel handle it while she took care of Natsu.

XXX

The rune knights came and collected the prisoners, the alliance defeated oracion seis and were now being looked over by the medics of the knights. Lucy sighed for the tenth time this day.

"My god Bunny, what the hell is wrong now?"

She looked at him and back at her bandaged arm, "I don't believe it's true."

"What is?"

She sighed again and got up from where she was sitting, Gajeel was going to get up to follow her but she turned to him "Don't worry Gaj, I will be back."

She was out of his sight before he could respond to her. She went to the rune knights who were having trouble bringing Cobra in the carriage.

"You fucking idiots, I'm telling you I hate rides, I prefer to go walking on foot and not by this evil thing."

One of the rune knights noticed Lucy coming closer and went to her "How may I help Lucy-san?"

"I just need to talk to Cobra a bit please?" she demanded with a sweet smile and a sparkle to her eyes. The rune knight in front of her blushed and stuttered "Lu-Lucy-san, i-it is not safe."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She said as she pushed past him and went to Cobra. The knight was still stunned that he realized a little too late that she just passed him.

Lucy reached Cobra and he looked at her "Back for more Blon…die?" he whispered the last bit as her tiny hands circled him in a hug and held him tight. The knights, the prisoners like Jellal, Midnight, Angel and the others, the alliance members all looked at Lucy and Cobra. Gajeel stood up to see what is happening and he just couldn't believe how big Lucy's heart is.

Cobra stood stunned, he fought hard to keep in the tears that threatened to fall. Never in his life was he held like this, and it felt… nice.

"I'm… sorry." He whispered to her while he buried his face in her neck.

"I know, and I also know what I am to you."

He stiffened at her words "And I would love for you to be my brother. I will come visit you in prison." She looked at him in the eye "I promise." Then she gave him her biggest smile.

Cobra remembered a conversation he had with Angel about the importance of promises to celestial mages…

"_Why is it so important?"_

"_Because you fucking idiot, if I broke a promise I can lose all my magic. It's how it works. That's why I don't promise you shit."_

"_Then how the hell you abuse your spirits and get away with it?"_

"_Because in the contract there is nothing that says I shouldn't or couldn't." she said as she fixed her nails._

For the first time after a long time, Cobra smiled a genuine small smile while Lucy released him from the hug. That small smile of his started to fade when he saw Lucy's devious eyes. 'What the hell is she think-'

"LUCY KICK!"

…

He was out cold on the ground while the others gawked at the scene with open mouths and wide eyes. She dusted her hands while muttering "That's what happens when you drug me ass."

She turned to the knights with a smile, and they flinched a bit "Now he won't give you trouble on the road back to headquarters."

She waved them goodbye while they were still too stunned to move or close their mouths. And that night, Lucy got four new keys added to her family, a new member joining Fairy Tail, and a crying, breathless Gajeel from too much laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 4**

Lucy stood in front of the master's office and took a deep breath. She had to do this, even if it was killing her on the inside. She knocked his door and waited for him to reply, after he did she went into his office.

"How can I help you my child?" asked the master looking up at her gratefully, because she just saved him from doing paperwork.

She looked everywhere but in his eyes "Master, I-I want to request a leave absence." She met his gaze and immediately regretted it, his smile faded and his eyes shadowed a bit.

"Why my child, did something happen?"

"It's something personal master, but don't worry I will be back."

At this he seemed to brighten up a bit "How long will you be gone?"

"Four to five years." A tear rolled by his cheek, he was really upset considering she was one of his favorite here, always bright, smiling and simply beautiful.

She smiled at him kindly "But I promise you I will be back, and a celestial mage never breaks her promises."

He seemed pleased by her answer and as he went to erase her mark, he looked at her "Does this have something to do with my grandson?"

She looked taken aback, and that was all he needed to confirm his suspicion, ever since the battle of Fairy Tail Lucy was not the same.

"Whatever he did I will help you, you don't have to-"

"Master" she looked at him kindly and he saw her fighting back the tears "I have to do this, and don't worry I will be fine, I am not alone."

He erased her mark and she went and hugged him as he cried silent tears, not noticing that the blonde had tears of her own flowing.

Walking to the door, she opened it and looked back at the master "If you could please tell them after I leave the guild later, and take care… gramps."

He choked back a sob and nodded "Take care child, and know that you will always have a family here."

After that she walked out and went to Gajeel' table, he was sitting next to Levy. He looked up at her and smiled a bittersweet smile, which she mirrored. His eyes landed on her right hand, now free of the color pink and the Fairy Tail mark. She sat with them that day and just hung out with the guild. Team Natsu was sitting on a table in the middle of the guild, chatting away. When Natsu noticed Lucy he waved at her and she smiled at him, walking up to them she had to muster all her strength not to break down. Sitting with them, all it did was reminding her of what she was giving up on.

At night, Gajeel waited for her to head back. He looked at her and he could tell that she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He slung his arm around her shoulder and smirked down at her when she looked up at him. She smiled kindly and it warmed his heart to see her smile. The trek back home became more bearable.

"How did he take it?" he asked her as they stepped inside the house.

"He started crying and then I started crying and god Gajeel he somehow knew it was because of Laxus." She rambled on with tears cascading down her face. Gajeel knew where the night was going, with her crying and him comforting her.

XXX

The next day Gajeel woke up to find Bunny curled up in a ball next to him, he sighed and got up. Looking back at her he saw her shivering and he draped a blanket on her. As he walked inside the kitchen he felt a presence behind him and instantly knew who.

"Morning Kitty."

"I am not a kitty you dipshit. How is she today?" asked Leo the lion, also referred to as Loke after he heaved a sigh.

"Emotionally stressed. Believe me those hormones of hers are gonna be the death of me." He chuckled as he prepared his breakfast, and prepared a special one for her. Not many people know this, but Gajeel was a natural in the kitchen. He knew how to make some exquisite dishes and the blonde loved that about him.

He looked back at the kitty to see him gazing at the blonde who is curled up on the sofa.

"She will be fine, she's a fighter."

Loke met his gaze and grinned "I know."

Gajeel ate his breakfast and went to take a shower. After he prepared himself, he got ready to leave his home. He turned to look at the kitty as he was about to open the door.

"Don't worry, I'm here if anything happens to her I will get you."

He nodded and exited.

Reaching the guild, he was not excited for he knew what was going to happen today. To prevent Natsu from catching her scent on him, he changed his cologne and also showered before he left.

After he walked in, he looked up at the railing and saw the master standing on it. The whole guild was dead silent, and he only wondered if he already told them.

"Brats, I have some unfortunate news to tell you."

Well it seems that he hadn't yet told them anything. He was relieved for a moment that maybe he escaped the emotional moment. It doesn't seem that way at all.

"Lucy" he took a deep breath "Has left the guild."

Nothing but silence in the guild, and Gajeel knew he was not going to like the outcome of this silence.

"WHAAATTTTTT!"

Questions like why and where is she, and if something happened to her were cast from members who deeply cared about the blonde. They were all heartbroken that the bubbly, cheerful mage left the guild. Mira already started missing her, crying a bit as she thought that she lost another sister. Erza was angry, Natsu and Gray were shocked to respond and do anything.

Gajeel looked around him and all he could see were people crying, punching something and some shocked faces. Those faces were the Raijinshuu' ones, they knew what happened to Lucy and concluded her leaving had something to do with Laxus and what he did to her. They had no idea that it was much more than that.

Gajeel couldn't take the atmosphere and left to some bar where he can drink and forget shit for a while. Brown eyes followed him as he left, and she wondered, out of all the people in Fairy Tail, he was the only one who didn't show any shock to what happened.

Normally she wouldn't be suspicious if it wasn't the leave of the blonde, because Gajeel has always been distant with the guild members but she knew he was close to the blonde, she saw them hugging. So she was left to wonder, if he already knew?

XXX

It has been a month since the blonde left the guild, and it was slowly getting its rowdiness. It was better after the master told them about her promise and they all knew the importance of promises to celestial mages.

The Raijinshuu were now more distant with the people in the guild, they felt responsible with what happened to the blonde, because they didn't intervene. But they knew that even if they did they would have died. Laxus was not in control of what happened then, and he sure as hell wouldn't mind killing them.

They also noticed that the iron dragon slayer started taking more jobs, spend less time with Levy, which was getting her frustrated.

They were in the market when they noticed Gajeel buying a lot of groceries, and it was understandable for he was a dragon slayer, but what caught their attention was the amount of strawberries he was getting, and knowing Gajeel he hates strawberries, you could tell by the scowl on his face when he was buying them. And the only person who likes strawberry so much is…Lucy.

Freed looked back at his companions who nodded at him. He got out his sword and enchanted a rune on himself and his team members that would hide their presence. They then proceeded to follow him, with Gajeel not having any idea that someone was following him.

When he entered a forest they stopped in their tracks.

"What the hell he doing in some forest?" inquired Bickslow with his babies repeating the word forest.

"Only one way to find out." Replied Evergreen.

They continued their march into the forest and they came upon a clearing that was enchanting with the cabin in the middle and the pond behind it. Gajeel was walking to the cabin's door when it opened and someone they haven't seen in a month comes out.

"Gaj-nii you are home." Cheered the blonde and then laughed as Gajeel almost tripped from the nickname she gave him.

"The hell Bunny? What's with the nii?" he said as he straightened himself and the bags in his hand, she came to help him but he refused and said that he got it.

"It just seemed fitting." He grunted at her response and Lucy only giggled, that was until she heard someone call out her name and she froze in her spot. Gajeel quickly dropped the bags and stood in front of Lucy protectively.

"Fairy woman, the hell you doing here? And how the fuck did I not sense you?" he growled at them, he knew they knew what Laxus did to her, and he despised how they didn't stop him from doing it.

Two other people emerged from behind a bush and he couldn't help the groan that bubbled from him, he was getting frustrated and Lucy felt it. She slowly turned to look at the trespassers of their little land. Once she locked eyes with them, they immediately saw how tired she was. Bags under her eyes, pale skin and it appears she gained a bit weight.

They could see how she supported herself by leaning on Gajeel. He turned to her and worry etched his face "Are you okay?"

"Yeah just suddenly got tired." She said as she laid her head on his chest.

"Don't worry you have an appointment tomorrow with the old hag."

She giggled at the nickname he gave to Porlyusica-san, but suddenly stopped as she toppled over in pain, clutching her stomach, the pain subsided a bit.

The guests were quickly by her side as Gajeel disappeared in the cabin.

"Lucy-san are you alright?" asked her Freed.

"Just peachy." She groaned. Seconds later Gajeel came back with a pill and a cup of water. He handed them to her and picked her up after she swallowed them. He turned to the three people standing and heaved a sigh before he invited them in.

He laid her on the couch and covered her in a blanket. The other three took seats on the chairs beside the table in front of the sofa. A bell sounded and a frantic looking lion spirit came to be as he looked around and his eyes landed on the blonde sweating on the couch.

"Princess what happened?" he leaped to her side and quickly grabbed her hand, this seemed to ease her a bit. He looked at Gajeel then past him when he saw the three people on his hate list "What are they doing here?" he growled, which surprised Gajeel because he has never seen the spirit this mad before, while Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow squirmed in their places. They knew they were hated and not wanted here, but they still had a purpose in mind.

A smack was heard and they turned their heads to see the struggling mage scrutinizing her spirit "Loke you know what happened to them and the situation they were in, they were just as helpless as me."

Loke looks back at them and then sighs "Really woman you have to stop forgiving easily."

She just giggled at him and shook her head "Never."

He smirked a bit then his face turned serious as he looked at Gajeel "What do you think is going on?"

Gajeel sighed and shook his head "Maybe the constant drain of her magical energy?"

The lion spirit face palmed himself 'Of course it was that.' He looked at the blonde and he was lost on how to help her.

"Um, why is Lucy-san's magic being drained?" asked Freed shyly, because by the looks he received from the iron dragon slayer and the spirit he knew he asked something wrong.

By now the blonde was asleep and they sat on the dining table to let her rest. The spirit looked at the slayer who nodded. They both knew that these three will not leave here without getting answers.

"Princess is pregnant."

The shock faces planted themselves on the Raijinshuu, who all looked at the blonde then at the spirit. Evergreen slowly rose on her feet and looked at Loke "And the father?"

The spirit looked angrily at her and spat "I think you know damn well who the father is."

She got up and bowed, crying hard and muttering the words 'I'm sorry' repeatedly.

Loke and Gajeel were both shocked with wide eyes, and their jaws dropped when they saw the other two follow her suit. They both felt uncomfortable by the whole situation.

Small arms held the fairy mage up and hugged her "It's okay, it wasn't your fault. You were as vulnerable as I was, all of you." The fairy mage only cried harder at her words, and as she looked back up at the blonde girl, she clasped her hands in front of her and said "Lucy please let me help you with whatever you need, just say it and I will do it."

"Me too, I want to help Lucy-san with whatever she needs."

"Count me in."

Lucy looked at the three of them and smiled at them kindly "Hai, Arigato!" while the spirit and slayer grinned at the scene in front of them.

XXX

It's been a week since the Raijinshuu found out about Lucy, they had visited her every day, brought her a lot of food, and even took her to her doctor's appointment, where they had to handle a cranky old woman by the name of Porlyusica.

At the moment, the blonde was sitting outside enjoying the sun with Ever next to her talking about the baby, and names fitting for a girl and a boy.

"It's only been two month Ever, you really need to calm down a bit." Said Freed as he came out of the house holding a tray of fresh lemonade. He handed one to the giggly blonde and one to the frustrated fairy woman.

"It's never too early Freed, plus picking out names saves a lot of time." Shot back Evergreen at the green haired mage who was sipping his lemonade enjoying the scenery.

"Okay guys, I need to get ready." Lucy said while getting out of her seat.

"Where to Lucy-san?" asked Freed as he got up to help her back.

The blonde giggled and refused his help "I will be fine Freed it's just a few steps. And please Lucy is fine."

The rune mage blushed from embarrassment and nodded.

"I will be visiting the asshole."

"You are going to the prison?" asked Ever in bewilderment.

"Yes, I am."

"Well, be careful. Do you need us to go with you?" inquired Freed as he gazed worriedly at the blonde.

Lucy shook her head "I'll be fine, plus Gaj-nii is coming with me and you guys need to prepare for your mission."

"Woman what did I tell you about this fucking nickname?"

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Lucy smiled and turned back to see Gajeel standing on the porch "How have you been…" he narrowed his eyes at her "Gaj-nii?"

He heaved a sigh and went back into the house "You have ten minutes to prepare or I'll leave you on your own to hop there by yourself Bunny."

"Hai!" the blonde then hurried back inside, leaving behind her two snickering mages.

Ten minutes later, the blonde was ready and they left for the council headquarters after Lucy said goodbye to the Raijinshuu and Gajeel grunted them a goodbye.

Arriving at the headquarters, the rune knights were surprised to see Lucy there, knowing that she left the guild and moved out of the city, since it was the talk of town, that she left the guild and as well the town.

Telling them that she came to see a certain poison dragon slayer left them baffled for very obvious reasons, but seeing the male who was standing behind her that they easily recognized as Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer from Fairy Tail, they let her in, but not before the blonde making them promise they won't tell a soul that she has been here, and for Gajeel to just glare at them.

XXX

"Hey poison freak, someone is here to see you." A guard said to the person laying on the far end of the room, his back facing the guard.

"Well are you not going to move?" the guard asked as he gazed on Cobra's figure. When he didn't get a response from him, the guard just turned around and left him while muttering that it's his loss.

The door shut behind the guard and Cobra heaved a sigh of relief. The door opened again and he quickly stiffened, especially when he smelt the sweet smell of strawberries and vanilla.

"Well are you not planning on getting out?"

He sucked in a deep breath and grit his teeth, he missed her melodic voice that seemed to calm his mind instantly.

"Why should I when your foot seems to like my face so much?"

The blonde giggled at his response "Oh don't tell me you are still hung up on that, I won't apologize if that is what you are waiting for, you deserved it you know."

The corner of his lips uplifted a bit, in truth Cobra knew that he deserved this kick, and he applauded her when he woke up and he found himself in his cell. But, he worked hard to make himself believe that this is all not real, that she didn't care, no matter if the dragon inside him didn't agree with him in this at all, he just felt and thought, that someone like him, doesn't deserve to be cared for in this life.

"Are you going to let a pregnant lady stand this long?"

His body went rigid. The different souls he heard back then were of her and the babies. He slowly turned to look at her "You're pregnant?"

She nodded and smiled kindly while she rubbed softly her little barely showing bump. He got up and walked to the cell.

"Can you go call the guard so he can let me out Sunshine?"

She brightened at the nickname he gave her "Why not you call him, he is standing right over there." She pointed with her head behind her where the guard stood next to the door.

She smirked at him and he grinned at her "Well you know I have a reputation I need to keep Sunshine."

She giggled and went to the guard. Five minutes later, the guard came and opened up his cell, put some magic concealing cuffs on Cobra and brought him out to a room where Sunshine and Iron head were waiting for him. The guard sat him at the chair and then left them to give them some time alone.

Cobra looked at the blonde then away "I should have known."

The blonde tilted her head while the slayer next to her raised his eyebrow "Know what Coco-nii?"

Cobra' mouth hang open while his mind went blank, on the other hand Gajeel was in fits of laughter from the expression on Cobra's face.

"Co…Coco-nii?" Cobra asked, he wasn't sure he heard what she said right. She nodded brightly at him, and he slammed his head at the table while Gajeel was in full blown laughter.

The smile on the blonde's face grew and she soon joined Gajeel with laughing. The poison slayer looked up at the blonde to see the mischief twinkling in her eyes "Sunshine you just keep on surprising me today."

She giggled but then stopped "So what were you talking about?"

He looked at her and sighed "I should have known you were pregnant."

The blonde and the slayer before him looked at him confusingly "How so?" asked the iron dragon slayer.

"I can hear souls, and that day I heard your soul mixed with others."

The color drained from the blonde's face while the iron dragon slayer widened his eyes "Others?" inquired the blonde with eyes seeming lifeless.

"Yeah… you didn't know you are pregnant with triplets?" he saw how she was about to faint and quickly he looked to the iron slayer for help, only to see that he fainted a long time ago.

He looked back at her to see her hyperventilating "Oh my god, how am I supposed to care for them all? How am I supposed to provide for them? What will happen to me if I died? Who will take care of them?"

"Sunshine, breathe!"

She kept rambling on, he could hear her heartbeat increasing and her soul sending a doom like melody.

"Sunshine breathe! The father will help you for sure, you are not alone."

The blonde stiffened and the iron dragon slayer woke up at the word 'father'.

She looked down at her lap, and then back at Cobra with misted eyes "No he wouldn't." she whispered so low he barely heard it.

Cobra looked at her and then at Gajeel, who was now sitting at his chair upright, glaring at something behind Cobra. He didn't need more than that to know that the father was not involved in their life.

He looked back at his Sunshine and he wondered what happened, but he knew not to ask. She looked at him and smiled softly, before taking a deep breath and started retelling him what happened. He wanted to stop her, but she said that he was family and he deserved to know.

By the end of her story, Cobra wanted nothing more than to chase the lightning dragon slayer and kill him. He didn't give a fuck that he was controlled, he only cared that he hurt Sunshine and left her with so much responsibility while he is off somewhere having the time of his life.

"How?" he asked her through gritted teeth.

The blonde tilted her head in confusion "How what?"

"How are you still smiling?"

The blonde looked at him weirdly while Gajeel answered "It's just who Bunny is."

Cobra was about to say something when a guard cut them off saying that visiting time is over. The blonde got up and hugged Cobra.

"I promise you I will visit you soon Cobra."

He returned her hug "Erik."

The blonde let go of him and raised an eyebrow "Erik is my real name."

The blonde smiled "Well then, I promise I will visit soon Erik-nii."

Cobra rolled his eyes and watched as the blonde left after waving goodbye, just as Gajeel was leaving behind her Cobra stopped him.

"You know what this means?"

The iron dragon slayer narrowed his eyes at the poison dragon slayer "What do you mean?"

The poison slayer heaved a sigh and while being taken away by a guard back to his cell, he said some words that will haunt Gajeel forever.

XXX

Lucy was waiting for ten minutes before Gajeel got out.

"Finally Gaj-nii, what took you so long?"

He looked at her then suddenly hugged her "Don't worry, it was nothing important."

She returned his hug and nuzzled her head in his chest "Are you sure? You didn't even react to the nickname."

He chuckled and broke free from the hug "Am sure Bunny don't worry about it."

After that, they both walked to the train station to go back home. The ride home was silent mainly because of Gajeel' incapability to speak because of his motion sickness.

Gajeel sat at the steps leading to the porch with a beer in hand, it was way late in the night and he couldn't sleep. The words that Cobra said were haunting him. He looked back at the house behind him, where Bunny was sleeping. Accepting the idea that she was going to have triplets was hard, and for now he still felt her hesitant about the situation. But he knew she could pull through, because she was not alone. He was not going to leave her side, for his dragon would go crazy without her, and so would he.

"_Us slayers can make only one person pregnant, And I think you know who I'm talking about."_

Those were the words Cobra said to him. Recalling those words, Gajeel shattered the beer he was holding. He knew that it won't be long before Laxus comes back once he realizes who Lucy is to him, and Bunny is not ready at all to face Lightning rod at the moment.

He felt a shift in the air and immediately he was on his feet, he felt that something really wrong was about to happen, and that is when he saw it. A large hole formed in the sky and it appeared to get bigger, he turned to rush inside to get Lucy to safety when he saw the cabin in front of him with the scenery behind it disappear.

Everything around him disappeared but he didn't care, the girl he considered as a little sister, who was family to him, disappeared. It was snowing and the ground was covered in snow. He hung his head and his eyes were shadowed, a tear rolled on his cheek and fell to the snow, melting and creating a place for it.

"You look horrible when you cry' she said."

He quickly looked at his side and saw the spirit that looked like a clock, Horologium, and inside him was a naked Lucy waving at the iron dragon slayer with a smile on her face. The slayer looked at her with wide eyes before they softened and he gave her a smirk before he burst out laughing.

After she got out and Virgo handed her some clothes, she looked around her "What happened? Everything is gone."

He looked around as well "I don't know, it just suddenly happened, everything I suppose was sucked in that circle."

She turned to him "Circle?"

"Anima." They both turned to see a cloaked man approaching them, Gajeel stood protectively in front of Lucy.

"Who are you?" asked Gajeel.

The man before them came nearer and stopped right before them "My name is Mystogan."

The blonde and the slayer both widened their eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 5**

"Please be careful, and give this to the others when you find them." Mystogan handed Lucy a bottle containing red pills.

"Okay but what exactly do these pills do?" asked the blonde.

Gajeel turned to her and took the bottle of pills out of her hand "No!" then faced Mystogan "Do you know somewhere safe?"

Mystogan looked bewildered at the two in front of him.

"What do you mean 'no' Gajeel?! I'm going!" argued Lucy back at the man who is not even looking at her.

"Like hell you are! Did you forget what kind of situation you are in?" he grit his teeth and continued looking at Mystogan "I will not risk your safety, not now not ever."

The blonde looked taken aback by his response, but then her eyes softened and she gave him a soft smile "I know what you mean, and I am scared too-"

"I ain't scar-"

"Let me finish will you?!" Lucy looked at Gajeel who finally turned to look at her "I know that I am not in the best condition at the moment to fight, but haven't you heard what he said? This Anima thing sucked up our friends and family Gajeel, and I will not stay here and do nothing, I will be careful I promise you and I will not do anything reckless, but you have to trust me here okay? Plus I think you need all the help you can get."

Gajeel looked at her and then heaved a sigh "Bunny, do you not remember that your magic is being constantly drained at the moment? I-"

"And I will not use my magic, I have my whip and Loke can come out of his gate on his own along with Virgo so I will be safe."

The two looked at each other until a cough broke their staring contest and they turned to face the man in front of them.

"I do not know what your condition is Lucy-san, but we need all the help we can get to save your friends and Magnolia…"

"Then it's settled, I'm going. Oh and Lucy is just fine." She smiled at the blue haired man then she turned at her big brother.

"Be careful." Lucy whispered and gave him a hug which he hesitatingly returned.

"You too, and if something happens to you, just shout my name and I will be there."

The blonde smiled nicely at him and nodded, then she turned back and was about to go to Mystogan when the iron slayer called out after her and she turned to him.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" asked the blonde.

He searched his pocket and let out a silver key "I was going to make you a surprise gift for when you give birth, but I guess you might need this key more than ever now. From the information I was given, this is Corvus the Crow, and he can use stealth magic as well as shadow magic, and he seems to use his own magic so when you summon him, he will not drain you." He handed her the key.

Lucy checked the key then looked up at the iron dragon slayer "I honestly don't know what I would have done without you in my life."

The iron slayer grinned "You talking as if I would know what to do with mine Bunny if you weren't in it. Now let's go, we have a home to save."

"Yeah, let's." Smiled the blonde.

XXX

"They were last spotted here, so fan out and search the houses and hotels." Commanded a soldier.

"What are we going to do? We are cornered from all sides." Said a blonde woman peeping through the wall.

Suddenly a shadow erupted from the floor and took out the soldiers one by one, and then left.

The ones in hiding looked at each other and then slowly stepped out of the room they were hiding in.

"What happened here?" asked Ashley.

Natsu took a whiff of the air and grinned "I guess we got some help, from someone we lost a while ago."

Happy and Charle both looked at Natsu then at the place where the soldiers were, they were about to ask what he meant by that when the shouts of the other soldiers drew nearer and they took off running. They were closing in on them when suddenly a ride appeared, and saved them from being captured. And at that moment, Natsu almost fainted when he saw his counterpart.

"My lady, they were hiding in that room and soldiers were coming closer so I knocked them out." Relayed the spirit.

The blonde nodded and looked back at him "Were they okay?"

"They seemed okay my lady."

The blonde heaved a reassuring sigh "Thank you so much Corvus."

"Anytime my lady. Now I do not wish to sound rude, but why are we hiding behind a tree and why are we stalking these people?"

She looked back at him and sighed as she made herself comfortable "You don't have to be so formal with me Corvus, Lucy is just fine." He widened his eyes but nodded nonetheless, and she continued "And as for why we are doing this, these people are my friends, and I owe them this much. A lot of times they had my back, rescued me from plenty of situations, and I feel like after what I did to them it's only fair to help them."

The spirit sat back and looked at the blonde "May I ask you a question?"

She turned her gaze at him and their eyes met, brown eyes meeting dark and hollow ones. Lucy didn't have much time to appreciate her soon to be new addition to the family, but now that she did, she could only describe him with a word she never thought could be used on a male before, beautiful. Black jet hair, toned body and of light skin. He was wearing all black leather except for a shirt, and the tattoo on his chest was that of a crow breaking free from a cage, while on his right arm was of a crow dividing into plenty of tiny crows that went the long of his arm, and on his left one, is of a crow standing on a skull. But the most beautiful tattoo on his body had to be the one on his back, of two large black feather wings that covered his shoulders to his mid back.

She looked him back in the eye and realized that he knew she was ogling him, she cleared her throat and forced her blush down, "Yes you can."

"Why?"

The blonde looked puzzled at him "Why what?"

"Why are you being nice to me?"

"Hmm, what do you mean? Of course I am going to be nice to you. Why wouldn't I be? You are here helping me save my friends when we haven't even formed a contract yet."

"So that's all there is to it, you are just using me to insure that your petty friends are alright?" he chuckled "I should have known, oh and news flash woman, you are not doing anything but staying behind a tree while I am doing all the work. Nice job hiding behind spirits." He spat at her and looked away.

Lucy just stood there with her eyes wide open and her mouth sealed shut until she finally let out a shaky breath and fought back the tears that threatened to fall.

"You are judging me without even knowing me…" She whispered, and he looked back at her "But you are right at something, at the moment I am not doing anything but hiding behind your back, and you have no idea how that is infuriating me…" she sucked in a breath as a tear rolled on her cheek "to feel weak and be unable to help save your friends, that is the worst thing I could feel. But right now there are other people I need to consider of and care about." She said so while rubbing her small yet noticeable baby bump.

He looked at where her hand is rubbing and then back at her eyes "You… are pregnant?"

She turned her gaze to him and nodded. He wanted to say something but the crow he send to track Natsu and the rest came back.

"She says that they know where they are."

She wiped away her tears and got up "Good, let's go. And after we are done, I will let you do what you like."

"What do you mean?" he looked confused at her.

"I understand, you do not wish to be contracted, you wish to be free. Free like the crow on your chest, so I will not tie you into a contract with me." She said as she walked by him with a smile on her face, and he watched her go.

The crow that was tasked with the mission now resided on his chest, "What do you think Elizabeth?"

She cawed and then flew.

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that she is pregnant? Calling me an asshole is a bit uncalled for Elizabeth." He muttered under his breath as he went to catch up to the blonde waiting for him.

XXX

"What the hell is that rubber like substance?" asked Corvus.

"I don't know but it seems to glue them together." Replied Lucy, as she was crouching beside her spirit behind a rock looking at the scene unfolding in front of them, it appeared that Charle led Natsu and Wendy here to get captured.

"This is bad…" whispered the blonde.

"Tell me about it, there are way too many soldiers to fight off and with your condition you can't summon a spirit and I am kinda running low on magic with masking your scent from them so it appears all we could do is just follow them back to wherever they wish to take them- Watch out Lucy!"

He yells to her as he pushes her out of the way and takes the hit of the hilt of the soldier's sword and starts to slowly fade into the spirit world.

"Corvus!" she tries to reach out to him but the soldier grabs her by the hair and yanks her on her feet "Well well well what do we have here? A fine looking lady quite indeed…"

"Who is this?" asks Erza Knightwalker.

"I just found her spying on us with some other dude… wait where did he go?" he starts looking around but he doesn't find anything.

"You are telling me you let one of them escapes?" she glared at him and he gulped "No, I jus-"

"Stop with your excuses, knock her out and take her to the prison cell, I will deal with her later."

"Wait Erza why are you doing this-". Lucy wasn't able to continue, for she was knocked out and carried on the soldier's shoulder.

As they cleared out of the cave, Corvus slowly showed himself from the shadows "Damn it, Elizabeth come forth."

The crow manifested in front of him and looked him up, then she cawed.

"Yes I know I am fading back but I am trying to fight it as much as possible, listen go and give this to Gajeel, he's Lucy's brother. Just by following her scent you can get to him, do not follow her. I am going to save up as much as I can of magic then open my portal, now go!"

The crow cawed and flew off, leaving behind her a spirit fading back to his realm "I hope you stay safe until I come back Lucy." Were his last words as he disappeared completely.

"Why are you doing this to us?" screamed Natsu as he felt his magic being drained from his body.

The chief of staff of the royal army, Byro, laughed at Natsu as he sucked his magic away, "Oh your magic is surely nice, now our world will be able to live on, and you both and your captured friend will die for this world, and it's quite a worthy death."

"Our friend?" asked Wendy as pain kept seeping through her.

"Yes, your blonde haired friend, she seemed to have followed you in order to save you, poor girl got herself in trouble instead." Byro mocked them and continued his extraction of their magical powers.

"Lucy…?" asked Wendy to no one in particular, but the pain blinded her mind from further thought as she screamed at the loss of her magic.

Meanwhile, Lucy wakes up and finds herself cuffed into a wooden plaque. She hears footsteps nearby and looks up to see Erza looking down on her.

"Erza, what happened to you? Why are you doing this?"

"Shut up Blondie, you were ordered to be executed by our king. Now get up on your feet."

Lucy couldn't believe her ears, and as she tried to reason with Erza she finally discovered the truth that in fact this was not her Erza, this was Edolas's Erza, and at that moment, Erza knightwalker let go of the blonde to her demise.

While falling Lucy closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she couldn't believe this was how she was going to die, how her life was going to end, she didn't want to. And with that she opened her eyes and yelled "CORVUS!"

Right after that, a bell sound was heard and two muscular arms circled her body and held her close to him, while two feather black wings erupted from his back to fly them slowly to the ground.

"You must be the stupidest girl I ever had as a master." He said to her ever so slowly.

She giggled "That won't be the first time I heard that actually. So I see that you changed your mind?" she looked at his eyes and smiled warmly at him.

"Yeah…" he sighed "It appears so."

"Thank the heavens you are alright. Why the fuck did I just see you freefalling from the goddamned building?!"

She turned around to see Gajeel hunched over his knees breathlessly.

"Gaj-nii?"

"Don't Gaj-nii me! Yo birdie, I got your letter telling me that my sister's been captured. I see you left out the fact that she was going to be fucking dropped off a building by a redhead." Stalked the iron dragon slayer at the spirit.

But before he could make any move Lucy was already between them "It's not his fault, we were hidden and they sneaked up on us, the soldier was about to hit me but Corvus took the blunt and was sent back to the spirit world, then they captured me and took me to this dungeon where the redhead came and told me that the king announced my execution. She also took my keys."

The spirit smirked behind her and opened his hand where her keys were located, "You mean these?"

She turned around and hugged him while thanking him.

"But then how were you able to open his gate?" asked Gajeel from behind her.

"I actually wasn't really sure it would work" Gajeel' eyes widened "I just called out his name and hoped he would hear me."

The iron dragon slayer inhaled and exhaled several times to try and clear his head, and then he looked behind them "Oh shit."

"What?" Lucy turned and her eyes widened at the spot, for Happy and Charle both were staring back at her with Happy being on the verge of tears and Charle just shocked.

"Happy-oof" he didn't give her time to talk because he flew directly into her chest sobbing.

"We thought you were gone! Why did you leave us Lushie? WHY?!"

And she held him while she also shed a few tears of her own "I had to Happy, I had to. And don't worry, I will come back I promise."

He looked at her with eyes pooling with tears "Is it because Natsu and I keep eating all your food and sleeping in your bed?"

"No…" she chuckled "of course not, I just needed some time on my own that's all."

"Then why is Gajeel with you?" he looked hurt and betrayed, Lucy couldn't bear lying to him but she had to.

"Because he is helping me with something Happy, something really important that only he can help me with, okay?" Happy nodded his head and Lucy looked over him at Charle to see her although skeptical but also nodding her head.

"Happy I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" he asked with a tiny voice.

"And Charle as well, promise both you won't tell anyone you saw me here, alright? Promise me."

"But-"

"Promise me Happy."

And then, Happy and Charle both promised to not tell anyone that they saw her here, they then flew off to go help Natsu and Wendy.

"That went a lot better than expected." Remarked Gajeel.

"Indeed. I think we should get you out of here Lucy, somewhere safe."

"I like him."

Lucy turned to Gajeel "Five minutes ago, you were ready to kill him, or make a forest out of him, god knows what goes on in that head of yours." She giggled at his annoyed expression.

"Same can be said about you Bunny. Now you guys take care I have some stuff I need to get done, keep her safe birdie."

"I will."

And so Gajeel went off to help breaking the lacrimas while Lucy and Corvus went to find a good place to keep low for a while.

XXX

"Please tell me this isn't your idea of safe." Yelled Lucy as she was running from an octopus with a little girl named Coco and her spirit along her side.

"How the hell was I supposed to fucking know that there would be a fucking octopus here?!" he yelled back.

"Watch your language there is a kid here with us." She reprimanded him.

He looked at the girl and apologized.

"No, it-it's alright." Coco stuttered for she wasn't used to be apologized to at all.

"And by the way…" he looked back at Lucy "You were the one who mistook the key he was talking about to your keys and started attacking him, so if anything this one's on you."

"Well excuse me for trying to protect my family!"

Her answer made him stumble a bit but he caught up easily, and then Virgo showed up and gave Lucy a celestial whip which is called Fleuve D'etoiles that extends as Lucy wishes to, and with that she was able to defeat the octopus and save herself plus her spirit and the girl.

XXX

"I will see you back down there Corvus." Lucy screamed as she floated in the sky.

"You definitely will." He whispered as he faded back into his world.

…

After a while Lucy woke to find herself in front of her home with her clothes wet because of the harsh rain that kept falling, she heard yelling nearby and got up on her feet to walk there, suddenly she realized how tired she was but she still willed herself to get up and go to where she heard the voices.

Drawing nearer to the voices, she held her breath and with what strength she had left summoned Corvus to seal the contract with her, and after she did that and she learned that he is available at all times, she asked for him to mask her presence and he did.

Coming closer, she looked at the scene in front of her with a gentle smile, her old team was alive and safe, so as the whole guild and she couldn't wish for anything else. Her spirit crouching next to her looked at her smile and he breathed a sigh of relief, in the little time they had together, he discovered many things about this woman, and all are things that made his respect for her grow and deepen.

Gajeel was with the crew as they were celebrating their victory, but he could sense her, so he looked back and smirked her way, and she mirrored that smirk with her own. Happy noticing where Gajeel was looking, followed his line of view and had to suppress back a sob.

"Lucy, Lucy was there wasn't she? Did anyone saw her?" asked Natsu looking at his teammates, they all shook their heads no, all except for Happy and Charle.

"Happy, did you see her?" Natsu looked at his buddy that seemed to be troubled by something.

Lucy looked at Happy and saw that he was staring at her, so she smiled warmly at him and nodded, he then closed his eyes and turned towards Natsu "No I didn't see her."

Natsu felt that something is wrong with Happy, but he couldn't ask anything further for Panther Lily returned with a rope tied around a white haired girl, who then jumped and embraced Natsu. Lucy couldn't help but be upset that she wasn't able to be celebrating with them at the moment, not now and not for five years, if they still remembered her by then.

It turns out that the white haired girl is actually Mirajane' baby sister, who was assumed dead two years ago, as it seems the anima had sucked her up back then and she lived for two years in Edolas, and now she was more than happy to be back home.

Lucy imagined that this would be her reaction when she get to go home, back to Fairy Tail, but now she couldn't. She turned to leave and her spirit followed her in silence. Rain pouring down at her, she didn't notice her tears falling with them, and she also couldn't notice…

"Lucy!" yelled Corvus as he caught the fainting blonde.

He looked at her in his arms, all soaked and tired, barely breathing, shivering. She didn't notice but her spirit did, he noticed the blood dripping down her jeans, he noticed her swaying, and when he was about to ask her if she was alright, she fainted.

So he carried her on his back and sent his bird to Gajeel. With Gajeel, upon receiving the letter, he dashed out of there with his exceed behind him flying and asking him 'What is wrong?' But Gajeel didn't have time to answer, he had to get to her. Upon arriving and seeing her condition, Panther Lily gasped at the amount of blood he saw dripping from her, Gajeel carried her and ran to the old hag's clinic.

When he arrived he didn't knock on the door, he busted it open and laid the blonde on the makeshift bed. Porlyusica came to object but as soon as she laid her eyes on the bleeding girl, she ushered them all out of the room to work.

Now they were waiting for her in the living room, when Corvus looked at Gajeel.

"Do you think it was because of me?" he asked the iron dragon slayer.

"What do you mean?" he wasn't even looking at him, he just sat there with his head down and his arms on his knees.

"She sealed the contract with me, it is not supposed to include much magic, only a little and then I was using my own magic."

"Then it's not your fault."

Lily looked over at his new partner, and seeing him so defeated changed his perspective of him, from the minute he saw him he thought he was a tough guy who didn't break, but now he could see that this girl meant something for Gajeel, because he completely shut down on himself.

Half an hour later, Corvus returned to the spirit world because he was out of magic, and Gajeel was in the same position as before, still waiting for her. Ten minutes later, Porlyusica came out sighing deeply.

In no time Gajeel was up on his feet "How is she? How are the babies?"

Porlyusica sighed and glared at him "She was supposed to rest at all times, what happened?"

"There was a thing that sucked up the world, and some guy came and asked for our help so we both went but she was careful. I told her not to go but she insisted."

The doctor shook her head "That girl is as stubborn as a bull."

"Tell me about it. Now how is she?"

"She and the babies are fine, she was just fatigued and had a minor bleeding but it stopped almost immediately, the amount of blood you saw was caused by the rain honestly, she didn't bleed much. But she was really tired…" Gajeel let out a breath of relief "I am not finished yet, if this ever happens to her again, she could lose her babies iron imbecile, do you understand?" he nodded his head and she then gave him instructions about the food Lucy is supposed to eat, she also gave him a new bash of vitamins to take and told him he could stay here until the rain stops and Lucy wakes up then they could both leave, and to also check up on her twice a month.

He sat beside the blonde who was resting peacefully, and Lily flew and sat at her bed.

"Is she your wife?" asked Lily.

Gajeel chuckled "No she is my sister."

That answer stun Lily and he started looking at the both of them closely "Are you sure?"

"I will tell you all about it later, let her rest now. And we deserve our own rest as well." He yawned after he finished and laid his head beside her hand.

"I agree." Lily nodded his head while he was preparing himself to sleep on the bed next to the blonde.

Porlyusica came by to recheck on the blonde when she came across this scene, Lucy resting peacefully with Gajeel and Lily on both sides of her sleeping. She smiled a small one "You have a good family Lucy, hold on to it."

She then walked out the room and was closing the door when she heard a faint 'I will.'


	6. Chapter 6

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 6**

Lucy woke up in her bed next to a sleeping exceed, she recognized it as the one she saw at Porlyusica. Quietly she tried to move but the exceed woke up nonetheless, he rubbed his eyes open and sat up looking at her.

"Um sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Whispered Lucy blushing slightly.

He just chuckled at her and extended his paw in greetings "No worries Bunny, my name is Panther Lily, nice to meet you!"

She shook his paw and smiled slightly while answering him "Nice to meet you too! I suppose you are my brother's exceed."

He nodded, she giggled and continued "Finally he got you, he was starting to get jealous of the other dragon slayers."

He gave her a small smile before he began speaking "Gajeel told me who you are to him, and also what happened to you in the past, as well as your condition at the moment, so if you ever needed assistance in anything I am more than willing to help you."

She smiled at him and nodded "You are really quite the gentleman, I wonder how your partnership with Gaj-nii is going to fare…" they both chuckled at what the blonde said.

"I get your point. But truly what I learned about your bond with him is amazing."

"Really? What did you learn?" asked Lucy not knowing that later she was going to regret ever asking that question.

"Well for one that the bond between you two is unbreakable no matter the hardships you go through, as well that Gajeel would be able to sense if you are ever in trouble and vice versa, and that he would become overprotective of you to ensure his family's safety." He talked slowly noting the fascination on the girl's face.

"Wow that is amazing! You said you read about this, where?" the blonde inquired enthusiastically.

"It was in a book that Gajeel has in his room, it talks about all the different things that a dragon slayer goes through. Something caught my attention that I found fascinating back when I was reading… it said that a dragon has a mate, that he will form a bond with and love and cherish for eternity and that if she or he died the dragon would never find love ever again and often end up killing himself." Lucy was so mesmerized by all this information and she kept asking him more questions.

"So does that imply as well on dragon slayers?"

"Yes it does, all dragon slayers have mates that they will love and cherish till the end, and get this… a slayer can only impregnate his mate and only his mate- Bunny are you alright?" he was concerned for her when he saw her go pale and her eyes open widely.

"Bunny…?" he was now more worried when he saw the pure horror in her eyes.

Lucy got up slowly from her bed and walked down the stairs towards the kitchen when she heard noise and figured Gajeel is cooking while Lily flew behind her. Gajeel having already sensed her coming looked in her direction, the knife he was using to cut the meat fell from his hand when he saw the look on her face, but before he could ask her what was the matter she asked him a question that left him shook.

"Am I his mate Gaj-nii?" Lucy looked at her brother searching for some kind of comfort, she was done with all these surprises.

"Is the reason why I can't hate him is because of the bond?" now Lucy was trembling because she couldn't stand the idea that the reason why she couldn't hate Laxus was because of the bond, that it is controlling her feelings towards the lightning dragon slayer.

At this moment, the Raijinshuu walked in holding a couple of grocery bags, but they remained silent when they sensed the atmosphere in the room, they sneaked glances towards each other and then to the blonde only to see her trembling.

Gajeel sighed and looked at Lily who was avoiding Gajeel' eyes "No, it's not." He answered his sister "I didn't want to tell you this at the moment because your body is too weak to handle such things."

The blonde widened her eyes "What do you mean my body is too weak?"

"The old hag said that your body is being drained of magic constantly which means that some of your kids or maybe all are wizards. That constant drain will effect on your emotions and body, so you are to avoid stress because it will only strain your body."

The blonde stopped trembling and spoke softly "Please tell me what it all means? I can't handle more surprises about my pregnancy."

He walked close to her and hugged her tightly "It means that you are his mate, the one to complete him, the one who only with could he experience true happiness and love. And the only one who will bear his children."

She started crying and he held her tighter "But Bunny, what you are feeling has nothing to do with the bond because you never interacted before, you didn't form a link between the two of you. So the reason why you can't hate him is only because you have a big heart, a stupid one at that but still."

She giggled and stepped away from him "But then does that mean that I will be forced into a relationship with him?"

"Not at all, you could reject the bond and go on loving another."

"But what would happen to him?" she asked him, and he knew the answer to that question, but he didn't want to tell her.

"I don't know, all the information I got are from the book and the stupid poison lizard." She punched him on his chest and he gihi'ed.

Freed looked at Gajeel and knew that the slayer was hiding something but after hearing all this explanation, a lot of things clarified for the Raijinshuu, and it all had to do with Lucy. They snuck a few glances and nods between each other that did not go unnoticed by the slayer resident in the room.

"Well we're back." Shouted Bickslow from behind Ever and Freed.

Lucy turned to them and smiled "Welcome back!"

Evergreen went and hugged the blonde while Bicks and Freed went outside to organize the table.

"Imma go back to cooking." Gajeel said as he ruffled the blonde's hair only to earn a pout in return.

"So Lucy tell me what happened with you in Edolas?" asked Evergreen.

"Wait wait…" both girls turned their attention to Lily "Your name is Lucy?"

Both girls tilted their heads to the side with Lucy nodding slowly.

"But Gajeel said your name is Bunny."

The blonde looked in the direction the slayer was, only to find out he disappeared, and then she started to giggle, soon Ever joined in only for it to turn into a full blown laughter with Lily standing between them confused.

After a half hour the food was cooked and they took it out to the garden so they could eat their food while enjoying the scenery. Freed helped set the table while Gajeel was bringing in the plates, Bickslow arranging the chairs and Ever getting the drinks, all the while Lucy was sitting on a chair near the table with a pout on her face.

"This is really inappropriate for me to sit while you guys do all the work."

Bickslow walked up to her and ruffled her hair "Don't worry about it, you just take care of feeding these little monsters that you are carrying."

She giggled and looked at him "One day you are going to be an amazing father if you call your kids monsters."

He grinned and rolled out his tongue "Facts Cosplayer, I'm just stating facts."

They both chuckled before they heard Gajeel bark that the table is set, Bickslow helped Lucy get to her chair then sat down next to her with Gajeel on the other side of her.

They all chatted happily while eating, and once they were done Freed and Bicks cleared out the table while Evergreen prepared drinks for the rest of them. She handed each one their respective ordered beverages and sat down on her chair enjoying the view.

Lucy was pealing Kiwis so they could eat them when Panther Lily walked up to her "What are those things Bun-um Lucy?"

She giggled and replied to him "Those are kiwis and you can call me Bunny Lily it's alright. Do you want to taste one?"

He nodded and she handed him a small piece, the minute he took a bite he felt as if he was in heaven, its sweet yet a bit sour taste made him hum in pleasure.

"You like it?" the blonde asked him.

"Very much."

"Great, then I will peal some more for you." He nodded appreciatively in her direction.

"So are you going to go to the party tonight man?" Bickslow looked at Gajeel as he was passing by him.

"I don't know man, I don't wanna leave Bunny alone."

"What party?" inquired the blonde.

"It's a welcome home party for Lisanna, Mira's younger sister." Replied Freed to her question.

The blonde oh'ed then looked at Gajeel "You should go, don't worry about me I will be fine."

The iron dragon slayer shook his head "And if something went wrong, what would you do?"

"You do know that you gave me a communication lacrima."

"Also the master requested for all of fairy tail members to be present." Interjected Evergreen.

"Fine! But the minute you don't feel well you call me." Growled Gajeel out.

"Aye sir." Lucy saluted him with a smile on her face.

Later on they all, minus Lucy, left the cabin and made their way to the guild.

"Out with it Freed, what do you know about the lightning freak's condition?" grumbled Gajeel.

"It appears nothing gets past Black Steel Gajeel huh? Well unfortunately to you nothing gets past me too, you know what happens to dragon slayers when their mates reject them don't you?" Freed looked quizzically at the man who grumbled in response to his remarks.

"You first."

Freed sighed and shook his head, he should have seen this one coming, he knew the man was a bull "Laxus-sama always looked out for Lucy-sama whenever she was in the guild or coming back from missions, at first it was subtle, but then it became more."

"Whenever he would see that fire idiot with her he would growl or hiss, clearly showing his disdain of the relationship between the two of them." Interjected Evergreen.

"And when he found out that the fire crack head took Cosplay-girl to the S-class mission he stole, Laxus got so furious that he stormed out of the guild and almost burned down a whole forest with his lightning." Continued Bickslow.

All the while Gajeel was listening attentively to everything being said to him, at the end of their explanation he let out a sigh, he knew they wanted to know what happens to slayer who are rejected but he wasn't sure if telling them would do any good, he feared it would do bad.

"Now we shared our information with you, it is your turn." Reminded him Freed.

He took a deep breath and began telling them "When a mate rejects his or her slayer, the latter goes through different stages of rejection, the slayer could be in denial, continue to follow his mate around, he could go mad and end up destroying an entire city, or he could get depressed which usually ends up in suicide."

Gajeel looked at the horrified faces each of the Raijinshuu have at the moment "But, if the slayer is strong enough, he could pull through with minimal damage."

After a few minutes of silence Freed spoke up "Then we need to convince-"

"Fuck no! You will not talk to Bunny about this!"

"But-"

"NO! Bunny needs to make her own decisions about this matter, don't you dare influence her opinions on this matter."

"This goes to you too iron head, you can't influence Cosplay-girl's decision."

"I fucking know! Doesn't mean I have to like it though…" he whispered the last bit to himself. Truth be told Gajeel doesn't want Lucy anywhere near Laxus, he doesn't feel that Laxus can keep her safe and happy, but he also understood that he has to keep an open mind about this for when Lucy forgives the fucker because he knows in the end Bunny is sure as fuck going to take Laxus back, that's just who she is.

"Anyway we don't have to worry about that now that he isn't… you know."

The Raijinshuu nodded their heads solemnly towards Gajeel.

"Anyway let's change the subject, this has become very depressing. What are we going to do with Lucy when the S-class trials arrive? It's only a month away." Recalled Evergreen.

"We would need to take more jobs, that's good it would create an excuse for my constant disappearance. I need to take on more jobs because Bunny is eating for four now."

"We will help you as well in buying groceries and anything you need" Gajeel nodded his head appreciatively towards Freed "But the problem here is who is going to stay with her? We can't possibly leave her alone!" finished Freed.

"We won't, I'm staying with her." Answered Gajeel.

"And if you got picked?" asked him Bicks.

"I'll refuse."

"I don't think Lucy is going to like that." Remarked Evergreen.

"She won't know." Shot back Gajeel.

"So what you going to do till then?" questioned Evergreen.

"Take on jobs, Bunny wants to visit the poison lizard tomorrow so we are going to the council's headquarters and such…"

The Raijinshuu nodded their heads, then the group of four continued their walk to the guild all thinking about different things.

XXX

Gajeel was drinking his beer on the porch when he recalled what happened the other day.

The master announced the nominees to go through the S-class trials but then he adds the point where every nominee have to choose a partner, and when Levy came and asked him to be her partner he couldn't refuse her request.

And now after a week they are leaving to the island where the trials are going to be held. But what is already worse is that Lucy knows about the trials and also about the fact that he is Levy's partner and she couldn't be more excited for him. It was all because of that stupid kitty of hers who asked her permission to be Popsicle's partner and then went ahead and told her about everything.

He took a deep breath before standing from the porch and throwing his beer, since all the Raijinshuu plus Lily because Cana chose him as her partner are going, no one was left to stay with the blonde and even though she said it was okay, he didn't believe her so he knew what he should do.

...

Now arriving at the guild, Gajeel quickly shot up the stairs before Levy could catch him, he knocked on the master's office and once he heard a faint come in he opened the door leading to the master's office and walked in.

"Gajeel what can I do for you my boy?" inquired the master as soon as he laid his eyes on Gajeel' form.

"Master, could sign you another partner for Shri- Levy? I am not able to be her partner."

"Well of course, but is everything alright with you Gajeel? You have been working nonstop these last couple of months?"

"All is good master, don't worry about me." Gajeel reassured the master though Makarov didn't believe him but he refrained from probing any further.

"Alright who does she wish for her partner to be then?" the master asked Gajeel eyeing him as the man started fidgeting where he stood.

The master sighed before looking at the slayer "She doesn't know does she?"

Gajeel let out a breath and shook his head.

"Well I'm sorry but I won't be able to help you unless you talk to her and I have a feeling that you are not going to do that or you wouldn't have tried to do so behind her back in the first place."

The iron dragon slayer nodded and turned the door knob to leave.

"By the way Gajeel, how is she?"

The slayer froze, this old man couldn't possibly know that he is taking care of Lucy could he? He may be asking about another person, but in the guild the only person he hangs out with is Lily and Levy, so the master must mean Lucy. But Gajeel isn't going to take any risks, the last thing Lucy needs is the master knowing the truth, so he opted to feign ignorance "I don't know what you're talking about."

The old man only chuckled before rummaging through the files and dropping one in front of the slayer, he then laid back in his chair.

"In this file it says that you live in Fairy Hills but everyone knows you don't anymore and you haven't given us any information about where you are staying now-"

"That doesn't mean anything-"

"But there is a deed to a land in the forest, where a cabin lays, quite isolated from the town and peaceful, very appropriate to take care of someone, don't you think? I've seen the two of you outside the guild many times, you treat her like a sister and she treats you like a brother… I may be old Gajeel but I am not stupid"

The slayer was fascinated by this old man's wits, he then gihi'ed "No you certainly ain't. She's fine."

"Good, that's all I wanted to know."

Gajeel was shocked to hear this "You don't want to know what's wrong with her or anything?"

The old man heaved a sigh "More than anything, but she isn't ready and I respect that. It appears though that you do which means she entrusted you with it, she chose finely as well in doing so."

There was a small tint of blush dusting Gajeel' face after he received the compliment from master "Yeah… Well I should go now."

The master nodded towards him and watched as he left, leaving behind him more questions of the blonde than before, all swimming in the master's head. He didn't know anything about the blonde's condition but he is certain from something, this all has to do with his grandson.

XXX

Gajeel woke up and started preparing his bag, today was the day he leaves for the S-class trials, and he was excited and afraid at the same time. He feared that something would go wrong with Bunny while he isn't here, and no one would be able to know. What's worse is that Loke is going with Gray so only Corvus can open his gate if something went wrong with Lucy, and that thought didn't make him feel better, he knew that the spirit is strong but he didn't feel that he would be enough.

Sighing, Gajeel walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two when he saw Bunny and Lily already up and moving around in the kitchen.

"Oi! What are you doing? You shouldn't be moving about." He hissed at her and she just rolled her eyes, grabbed him by his shoulders and sat him down on the chair nearest to the table.

"Calm down I am just making breakfast, plus Lily was helping me."

"But why are you? Usually you'd be asleep at this time." He was confused as to why the blonde was up so early.

"Well because a dear brother of mine and his exceed are leaving today to participate in the S-class exams, and as I already said goodbye to Freed, Ever and Bicks yesterday, I decided to surprise you with a breakfast this morning before you leave as a form of encouragement!" smiled Lucy at her iron dragon slayer brother who wasn't believing that the blonde woke up early and was cooking him breakfast as a mean of encouragement, he then chuckled and shook his head.

He couldn't help but think that this is exactly something Bunny would do, so he decided not to fight her on it and help her prepare breakfast for the two of them and peal some kiwis for Lily.

After they were done, they sat on the table and Lucy started asking him questions about the exams.

"So you and Levy are partners?" inquired the blonde while subtly smirking.

"Yup! Me and Shrimp are going to beat this shit." He enthusiastically bumped his fist on the table while Lucy all the while was smirking at him, it was then that he noticed her smirk.

"What the hell are you smirking at Bunny?" he questioned already knowing that he isn't going to like the answer.

"Nothing… it just seems fitting that you and Levy are partners."

"Meaning…?" one of his eyebrows rose while he looked at her skeptically.

Meanwhile the blonde was enjoying the torment she was inflicting on her brother "Meaning that partners in life, guild and… love is really amazing."

Gajeel choke on the pancake he was eating and said with his mouth full "You dreaming Bunny!"

"Well it seems it's the other way around, you were the one dreaming yesterday on the couch when you were whispering her name in your sleep- ah sorry, when you were whispering Shrimp in your name."

He swallowed and continued "I could be dreaming about shrimps."

"Do shrimps like positions Gaj-nii?" at this his face reddened "And now I am kinda wondering what this dream was about… could it possibly be-"

"Oh shit I gotta run, Lily come on we gonna be late!" Gajeel yells as he jumps over the table and grabs his bag, puts his dishes in the sink and runs to the door, there he stops and looks back at Lucy to see her smiling.

"Knock em dead Gaj-nii." She calmly says while giving him a soft smile.

"You know I will Bunny." And he walks out with Lily.

No goodbyes were needed because they both knew, this isn't and will never be a goodbye. He will come back after a week tops and Lucy would bother him for all the details, and he will whine that she is annoying him but then give in to her requests and tell her everything, because that is what always happens.

"Be safe Gaj-nii, and come back to me." She whispers as she stares at the door almost immediately missing his presence.

Gajeel who was a bit far away heard her whispers and chuckled "Don't worry Bunny, I'll be back in no time. What could possibly go wrong?"

…

…

…

_If only he knew…_

XXX

Lucy was sitting at the porch staring at the yard in front of her that was shining by the setting sun, the blonde was wondering about her brother and friends, how they were faring and such when Loke stumbled in front of her breathless and beaten. She was quick on her feet and next to him rubbing his back as he coughed.

"Loke what's wrong? Are you alright? What happened?" she hurriedly asked him questions as she was freaking out, sitting next to him on the ground with a belly in front of her wasn't comfortable, but she managed for the sake of her spirit.

"Lucy, somethi-cough- something bad has happened…" he was trying to catch his breath, but he was also stalling, he didn't know how to tell his precious friend and master, that Tenrou island is gone, that when the fight ended between him and Capricorn, even though he was depleted of magic, he still stayed with the members when out of nowhere, Acnologia, the arcane dragon came and attacked the island, how everyone attacked him and didn't even scratch him… and how when the dragon blew up the island, that was when his gate shut sending him back to his world, how in those last minutes before it completely shut, Gajeel looked at him, the Raijinshuu looked at him and they all nodded, how Gajeel then whispered a 'Take care of her Kitty.' Before the island was no longer.

He couldn't get the image of Laxus there out of his head, not caring at all that Lucy was not in the guild, he wasn't even sure if he noticed. But Loke was sure of something, the Laxus on the island is nothing like the Laxus from four month ago, it was as if something changed within him, but even after all the things he discovered about Laxus, he wasn't going to let him near his princess.

And it hurt watching the guild act as Lucy was never a part of this guild, his heart ached when he found out that Lisanna is the new member of team Natsu, as if Lucy was no more than a replacement. And it seemed that Gajeel and the rest knew because they all looked at him and shook their heads when he was gawking at team Natsu talking after the fights with Hades when it was over.

It was then, that Loke started crying. He cried because he couldn't help his princess, because he failed her yet again… she gave him one simple request before he left, to watch out for the Raijinshuu and Gajeel, and he failed her.

He cried harder deeper his thoughts wondered, he clutched at Lucy for support while the latter was trying to understand what is wrong with him. He cried when he remembered the face of the master when he laid his eyes on him, as if he wanted to ask him something but knew that he wouldn't be able to give him an answer, when he remembered the face of Gray when he walked in the guild and told him that he will be his partner, he noticed then that Gray wanted to ask something but refrained from doing so, as if they asked information about the blonde, it would hurt them. He knew that, but he couldn't shake his feelings of hurt when he learned of the new addition to team Natsu.

"Loke, talk to me what's wrong? Why are you crying?" at this point Lucy also started crying, she couldn't bear seeing him like this.

"They- they are all gone…" he sobbed into her shirt.

"Who Loke, who?" she whispered, already dreading his answer.

"Everyone who was on the island… they are all gone, a dragon came and blew up the island, my gate closed while it was happening, everyone Lucy, they all…" he couldn't continue after he saw Lucy's blank face, he searched his pockets and let out something that he put in her hands. Lucy ever so slowly lowered her head to look at the object, only to find out that it was Capricorn's key with a note attached to it, and it read…

_Bunny, I know you gonna enjoy the new addition to your family, Kitty got it for you but I thought I should send something with him for when his gate closes, I am fine, got one hell of a beating though, don't worry about any of us, we'll be back in no time, in the meantime at least you will have this to reassure yourself with… stay safe and wait for me, I got some interesting stories._

Lucy clutched the key and brought it close to her heart as she sobbed loudly "GAJ-NII!"


	7. Chapter 7

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 7**

The jail at the council's headquarters was divided into corridors of many, many cells. In one particular corridor lay the Oracion Seis members and Jellal. Each had a magic sealing cell of their own. In the cell closest to the door lay a sleeping poison dragon on his bed, while the others were either staring into walls or reading, Cobra was enjoying his nap.

That is until he heard a commotion from the outside, then saw guards running everywhere. This picked the interest of all the prisoners there, a guard passed in front of Cobra's cell that he was quick to stop.

"The fuck is going on here?" Cobra didn't like the fact that they disturbed him from his nap.

The guard was sweating a lot from all this running and his emotions were hanging by a thread "It ain't your fucking business dipshit."

Now Cobra was angry, first they wake him from his nap, then they treat him like crap even though he was being nice to him, he didn't say anything bad about the guard, even though he wanted to. Ever since he met Sunshine he could feel his personality changing, and that earned him the title of the pussy from the other inmates, only because he was becoming nicer… a bit.

But before he could do anything, a voice interrupted the little showdown that was about to happen "Actually, it is his business." Lahar came in looking awfully shook, as if he just escaped a near death experience, he looked grimly at Cobra and instantly the poison slayer knew he wasn't going to like this.

Lahar stepped forward in front of his cell and dismissed the other guard. In his hand he held a paper that he was nervously playing with, he gulped and looked at the slayer, the look of terror flashed in his eyes but he quickly masked it away. Unfortunately Cobra caught on to it and now he was definite that he wasn't going to like this.

Lahar cleared his throat and began speaking "Today at noon, the Tenroujima Island has been attacked by the Seven Kin Of Purgatory."

Cobra sunk back in his bed, and the other prisoners listened in on the conversation…

"After their loss, Fairy Tail members were resting when a-"he gulped, he couldn't continue his sentence, he still couldn't believe it even happened.

"When a…?" Cobra asked knowing that he will regret asking that question.

"When a dragon attacked the island."

The whole section quieted at the mention of a dragon, even the members of the Oracion Seis and Jellal listened in on the conversation with wide eyes.

Cobra's whole body went numb, he looked at Lahar to see if the man was truthful and did the mistake of listening to his soul, Cobra could sense that the soul of this man was shivering with fear.

"Wh-"his voice was shattering so he cleared his throat "Who was on the island?"

The thing is, that Cobra already knew who was on the island, because the last time Sunshine came to see him she told him all about it, the S-class exam, the participants and more. So he knew that the Iron head, Greenie, Fairy woman and the freak were there, but for whatever reason, he needed confirmation from Lahar.

Lahar was looking at Cobra with a blank expression, in reality he didn't know what to tell him, because he feared his reaction the most. It was not past on him the change in Cobra's character these past few months, and he knew the cause of it. But he was sure that Cobra right now wanted to know the truth, so he gripped the paper he was holding in his hand and looked down at it "The occupants of the island were the following… the master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, the participants Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberano, Freed Justine" at the mention of Freed a small growl escaped Cobra, nevertheless Lahar continued "Levy McGarden and their partners Happy, Loke" another growl came out from Cobra this time was stronger "Lisanna Strauss, Evergreen" a hiss was heard "Panther Lily, Bickslow, Wendy and Gaje-"

Lahar didn't have time to continue because Cobra charged at his cell's door, Lahar jumped back in shock and soon later put his hands on his ears for protection because Cobra let out the loudest dragon roar that some guards thought Acnologia came back to finish them off.

Lahar looked at the man before him, no the term man shouldn't be used to describe Cobra at the moment, for he turned completely into a monster. Purplish scales covered both of his hands, and some were evident on his face, but his eyes, his eyes were purely white and wide, as for his fangs, they were showing fully and he was heaving.

Midnight, Angel, Racer, Hoteye, all looked at Cobra with fear in their eyes. It reminded Angel of the time she made fun of the blonde, then all of a sudden Cobra transformed and threatened her, ever since then she kept her mouth shut and didn't dare ever talk about his visitor again. But back then was nothing like right now, now it appears as if something horrible has happened to the blonde, and Angel can't say she's sad about that.

"Cobra you need to calm dow-"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!" Cobra roared and the whole floor shook, it seemed as if his cell wasn't enough for him at all.

"She wasn't on the island-"Lahar tried to hurriedly interject but Cobra was not having it.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I FUCKING MEAN!" his fist dug in the cell door that cracked under the pressure.

Lahar quickly called for backup but he feared if it would be enough. Cobra continued his ruthless beating on the door, it was about to break when he felt the magic dampening level increase in his cell, but even with all the pressure that's building up on his body, he continued punching the door, he couldn't see anything in front of him, he couldn't feel the pain that build up from his constant contact of fists with steel. He only wanted one thing, and it is to see his kin, his little sister… that is all alone now.

A while later he started to feel tired and his eyes were dropping, he looked up and saw Lahar still standing there then he lowered his head "You don't understand…" he whispered but Lahar caught on to his words, Cobra lifted his head and Lahar noticed the lone tear that spilled from his good eye "She's all alone now."

That was the last thing Cobra said before passing out, his body giving in to the pressure of the magic dampeners, while Lahar stood there unable to fathom how much a single person could have this much effect on a criminal. He commanded the guards to transport him into a different cell, and the guards quickly got to it. Lahar felt sorry for the man, but he couldn't do anything to help him. He could only search for the missing people, and that was what he was going to do.

XXX

Four months have passed, Lucy was now beginning her ninth month, but she didn't feel excited about giving birth at the moment. She looked around the empty cabin and felt her eyes prickling with tears.

She hid her face with her hands and began sobbing, even after all the nights she cried, she still had some tears to spare. A small kick let her remove her hands from her face to look down at her enormous belly. After eight months of being pregnant the blonde now could barely fit through the door. She ran a hand over her belly and gave it a small smile.

"If your uncle saw me right now he would say 'Bunny, stop crying! How many times have I told you so!'" she gave a dry giggle "And the funny thing is…" she whispered "If he was here…" she chocked back a sob "I wouldn't even be crying." And the tears once again flown down her face.

She couldn't stop crying whenever she remembered her brother and the Raijinshuu. She remembered what Loke told her that day he came coughing and crying to her.

"_Princess, a- a dragon came and it- it abolished the whole island Princess. They are all gone!"_

She could never forget her loyal spirit's crying face, or the note that Gajeel left her with the key. She keeps the note on her desk near her bed.

She got up on her feet to go to her room, she felt that she needed to read that letter again. Passing his door, she stopped and looked at it being closed. His door was never closed so that if she ever needed anything he would be able to hear her. She always made fun of the fact that he is a dragon slayer, he doesn't need to keep his door open at all times, because he would hear her anyway. But he always said that it made him feel better that way if there ever was a problem, he would get there faster to protect her.

She never thought that she would hate the sight of his door closed so much. She put a shaking hand on her aching heart and closed her eyes tightly, she needed to control her emotions or else she would have a set back like she did a couple months ago.

That night she was crying so much that she fainted. Loke opened his gate and took her to the hospital, there the doctor told the blonde that right now she is in a critical state, so she should always watch out for her emotions, because another mishap could very well lead to a miscarriage.

She slowly reached out for his door knob and turned it. The door creaking because of not being open for a while, she slowly pushed it open and walked in.

Bare, his room was bare. All his stuff were locked away in the attic, she didn't agree with this, but after the warning she got from the doctor two months ago, Loke thought it was necessary for her to detach herself from this pain. She shook her head while she remembered that day.

"_You can't do this to me Loke, this is all I have left of him." She yelled as the tears ran down her red face._

_He looked apologetically at her and shook his head no "Princess you know we have to! You know what the doctor said."_

"_I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT THE DOCTOR SAID-"_

"_Then you don't care about the children that your brother worked hard to provide for and ensure security to?" he whispered to her, he knew it was a cheap shot and unfair because he knows how much Lucy cares for her kids._

_She looked taken aback by what he said and sunk down on the floor while crying "This is not fair…"_

_He crouched down beside her and held her "I know it isn't. You didn't have time to adjust after your incident, and then comes this. But Princess can you tell me that you won't cry every time you see his stuff? After you smell him in the room? Can you?"_

_The blonde knew that he was right, and as she watched him and Virgo clear out the room, she felt as if she was losing Gajeel all over again._

She let out a heavy breath and walked out of the room closing the door gently behind her. She walked down the stairs knowing that if she read the letter, she would cry again.

Arriving at the living room, she laid down on the couch for she already felt exhausted. She heard footsteps approaching the door but thought nothing of it, she already knew who it was.

Loke opened the door and closed it gently behind him, she looked at his tired figure holding all kinds of grocery bags, she was about to get up and help when he shook his head and said "Don't you dare."

He laid them on the kitchen floor and started unpacking. After he was done he came back holding two ice creams bowls, one of chocolate and one of strawberry with two spoons.

He looked at her then at her belly "What would the trio like today?" he gave her a small smile that she couldn't help but replicate.

"Chocolate!" she exclaimed with a genuine smile.

He chuckled and handed her the ice cream with the spoon. These past four months, Loke has been opening his own gate to not drain his princess's magic. He also started taking up jobs so he could provide for Lucy, Virgo pops up always to clean the house and cook for the blonde. These past few months Lucy been barely able to move because of the constant drain.

"After all this while, I still haven't gotten used to you in casual clothes you know." He looked at his princess who was smiling warmly at him.

"You are remarkable princess."

She looked confusingly at him "What do you mean?"

He glanced at her then shook his head "Never mind about what it means, just know that you are." In fact Loke was astonished that she was able to smile after what happened these last couple of months, he himself had found it hard to do so, but whenever he looked at her, he saw her always smiling warmly at him.

"It's because it's easier."

"Hmm, what do you mean Princess?" he asked her perplexed.

She winked at him "Never mind about what it means, just know that it is." She giggled at his pout.

"I should have seen it coming." That made her laugh a bit harder.

After she finished laughing she turned towards him "It means, that smiling is way easier than crying all day and night, I tried both and I like this way better."

"How did you-"

"You always look at me when I'm smiling with sadness in your eyes, so I figured it must be it."

What he had been doing came full force to him and he was quick to apologize "I'm sorry Princess I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I will-"

"Loke." He quieted and look at his princess.

"Don't apologize about it. You know these past few months, I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you guys, I don't want you to hide your sadness from me Loke, you don't have to act like nothing happened. I'm doing so because I have to, but you went through something terrible Loke, so don't act like it didn't happen, it will only haunt you like I know it will haunt me later."

He gave her a curt nod and returned to his ice cream, he didn't like talking about what happened back then, because it still terrifies him till now.

The blonde finished her bowl and got up to put it in the sink, Loke was about to stand when the blonde stopped him "Would you please allow me to put it in the sink? I am starting to forget what my legs are for." She giggled at the last bit, he gave her a small smile and helped her there.

"So, the usual for today?" he questioned the blonde.

"Yup I am already dressed." She wore a simple black dress with a coat on top because it was cold.

"Alright let me jus-"

"Loke, sweetie you look like you're about to drop from the fatigue, please go back and tell Corvus to come."

"It's alright Prin-", she put her hand on his cheek and caressed it, "Please Loke."

He let out a heavy breath and kissed the inside of her palm "Alright Princess, but please be careful."

She chuckled "This is Corvus we're talking about, as far as I'm concerned he could be your twin."

He laughed a bit and disappeared in a shower of gold flecks, seconds later Corvus appeared "Do never compare me to Kitty!"

"Always appears with an attitude. How are you doing?"

He bowed low, took her hand and kissed the top of it "I'm fine, how are you my Princess?"

She raised her eyebrow at him "And you tell me not to compare you with Kitty. Come on Corvus we have a long day."

She grabbed her bag and went out the door, he grumbled but followed after her, the whole way Corvus was holding her hand and supporting her.

XXX

"My god, this is… art!" Corvus exclaimed as he looked around the forest, it was the first time he ever came here.

The blonde giggled "You haven't seen my favorite yet."

She led him through the forest and straight to a tree, he looked up and gasped. It was of a man holding his intestines in his hands while screaming.

"This is… beautiful! Who did this?" Corvus really like dark things, it has to do with his affiliation with the shadows.

"All of this, was made by Gaj-nii." She touched the tree the sculpture was dug into.

"Whoa, why though? I noticed they all had the same face."

She started giggling then it turned into a full blown laughter "You would never believe why…"

Then she went on to tell him the story of the man who hit on her, and how Gajeel handled it. All the way to the ending where the man left the town fearing for his life.

"Man" Corvus was crying from all the laughter "Your brother was amazing."

Her laughter died down to hold a serene smile on her face "Yeah he was."

Corvus quickly noticed the shift in her mood and cursed himself, so he tried his best to change the subject "So where to next?"

She looked at him and solemnly answered "The cemetery."

Corvus was shocked to hear that answer.

XXX

They were now standing in front of rows and rows of tombs, in the midst of them was a statue of a huge fairy holding a wounded fairy while tears were streaming down its face.

"Is this…?" Corvus didn't know how to continue his question. He looked at Kardia Cathedral behind him then at the blonde beside him.

"Yeah…" after a long silence she answered him "This is where they are buried, empty caskets because they didn't find any bodies, which is weird, because I mean if you didn't find any body it must mean that they're still alive right?"

He looked sadly at the girl next to him, he didn't know what to say to her, so he opted to say the first thing that came to his mind "The council is still searching, so you never know."

"Right." Lucy knew that the council are coming back empty handed every time they go out to search, she knew that most of them lost hope of ever finding the fairies. But she also knew that the Fairy Tail guild was holding onto that hope like a life line, so she will too.

Little droplets of rain started to fall so she turned and started walking away, Corvus following behind her. She heard small footsteps running towards her and she swiveled around, her eyes widened at the boy who was running towards her.

"LUCY-NEE!" Romeo was running full force towards her but right before he hugged her he got stopped by Corvus.

"Lucy-nee?" he looked at her, and was now able to really see her, and to him she looked like she was about to fall, he couldn't describe how she was, after all he was only six.

The blonde put a hand on Corvus and mouthed for him to let the boy go. Slowly Corvus released the boy and stepped aside, Romeo was now staring at her big belly. He knew what was happening with her, this isn't the first time he saw a pregnant lady, but he was shocked to see Lucy pregnant.

The blonde crouched down with the help of Corvus and opened her arms, the boy dove right into her embrace and she held him tightly. She didn't even realize that she started crying, holding Romeo like that reminded her of the time she and Natsu plus Happy went to save his dad, and that made the waterfalls flow.

Right now it was pouring harshly, so Lucy took off her coat and draped it over the boy, Corvus was about to protest but refrained when he saw that the boy was shivering.

"It was really nice seeing Romeo." She smiled warmly at the boy now completely drenched. She no longer felt the rain and looked up to see Corvus' huge black feathered wings shielding her and the boy, she smiled warmly at Corvus who smiled back.

"Lucy-nee… will it get better?" Romeo started tearing up, and she held him for a second time.

"It will sweetie, it will. After all they are never really gone are they?" she let him go and put her hand on his heart "They are always here."

The boy put his tiny hand above hers and asked "Why couldn't they be here… with us?" he cried as he shoved himself in her embrace, the blonde didn't know what else to do but hold on tightly to him. After a while he calmed down, that was when he heard his father yelling out his name, he let go of the blonde and looked at her "Will you come back?"

Lucy ruffled his head and smiled "Of course I will. Now go on, your father is looking for you."

He turned to leave but then stopped "Lucy-nee…" she looked at him, he zipped his mouth with his hand and threw away the imaginary key, then waved and ran back to his father. Lucy stood there smiling while crying, she couldn't believe what just happened.

"Are you alright Princess?" Corvus asked worried as he draped another coat Virgo brought him just now.

"Corvus… I didn't know how much I needed that!" she continued to smile while tilting her head slowly to the sky as it poured on them.

"What do you mean?" he looked at her confused.

"Romeo just reminded me that they are never really gone" she put her hand on her heart "They are always here."

Corvus smiled kindly at the blonde before him who turned to him while smiling "It's time to visit someone I haven't visited in months."

He nodded his head and walked beside her while holding her hand, suddenly she let out a grumble.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, one of the three just kicked me. They are active today."

"You good to go?"

"Yeah let's go."

In the cathedral, Romeo reunited with his father.

"Where were you? You had me worried… and whose coat is this?" rushed out Macao the second he saw his kid, he thought he lost him, just like the rest.

"I was with a fairy… and do you know what she told me?"

Macao chuckled and patted his head "What did she say?"

"That they are never really gone" he put his tiny hand on his father's heart "They are always here."

Macao looked at his son and embraced him as he cried silently "Yes, they are always here."

XXX

He heard footsteps but didn't bother looking up, they can come and go as they please, he didn't care anymore. He heard the door being opened and the man coming in.

"Cobra?" Lahar asked quietly.

Cobra didn't move from his spot on the ground, nor did he open his eyes.

"You have a visitor." His eyes stayed closed so he didn't see Lahar giving him a small grin.

"Well you can tell that visitor to go fuck itself, I'm tired of your bullshit."

"My goodness, he still doesn't know how to treat a pregnant lady."

Cobra's eyes shot open to see before him his Sunshine, he was quickly up on his feet and holding her tightly as best as he can. The guards wanted to interfere because an inmate is not supposed to have physical interaction with a visitor, but Lahar stopped them.

And Cobra… he was over the moon. At first he thought it was the sick joke that the guards played at him over the past months, but she was real, she was here and she was… BIG!

He let her go and they were both escorted to the visiting room, a guard came up to put the magic concealing handcuffs on Cobra, to which the man snatched them from the guard and put them on himself. He didn't want to waste any fucking time with the guards, he hated them with a passion. They liked to play sick games on all prisoners, like Blueberry the other day, they wouldn't give him food unless he got down on his knees and apologized, and of course the man didn't do that shit.

He sat at the table with Sunshine ahead of him but before he started talking she beat him to it.

"I'm so sorry Eric-nii that I haven't come to check on you sooner, it has been a couple of really hard months." She looked apologetically at her brother.

"Don't worry about it Sunshine, I can see that…" he waved his arms around her belly and her face "Clearly!"

She pouted at him and huffed "Of course I get all the mean brothers."

He chuckled at her words but then stopped, he looked worriedly at her and asked "How are you doing? And why do you smell like rain?"

The blonde giggled "Because I was walking in it, and I'm alright, just tired and emotionally exhausted."

He wrung his palms together and hesitantly spoke "I heard about… what happened."

She blew a breath out and sunk in her chair "Yeah, if you're asking about how I'm feeling about that, I can't really answer you-"

_POP!_

The blonde widened her eyes while Cobra looked down the table to see water dripping from the blonde.

He looked up and asked the baffled blonde "What just happened?"

Lucy froze to her spot "I think my water just broke." She whispered.

Cobra widened his eyes "You have got to be fucking kidding me!"


	8. Chapter 8

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 8**

Angel was looking at the wall when the ground shook and she heard a roar that reminded her of the one four months ago.

"GUARDS!"

She could clearly hear the guards rushing in the corridor to reach the room Cobra and his visitor were staying in.

_Five minutes earlier…_

"Oh my god what do I do? What do I do?" at this point Cobra started hyperventilating.

"What do you do? CALL THE FUCKING GUARDS!" the blonde yelled as she clutched her belly in pain, it was starting.

And that's when Cobra took a deep breath and with all his might roared "GUARDS!" Lucy put her hands on her ears to try and diminish the pain.

At this moment guards filed in with them Lahar, they were originally just outside the room to give the two some privacy, courtesy of Lahar, when they all heard the roar and came barging in, now they are all standing around the slayer and the blonde who was in pain.

"Cobra what happened?" asked Lahar, but unfortunately now that Cobra has fulfilled his role, he shut down.

"Eric-nii, WAKE THE FUCK UP! Lahar-san, my water broke. Also do me a favor and smack him on his fucking head!"

Lahar widened his eyes and did as was told. Once that was done he called the guards to ready the infirmary to take the blonde in to give birth. Cobra was wide awake now and next to the blonde who was heaving from the pain. He helped her get up with other guards who joined him as well, he was going out the door when a guard stopped him but let the others walk through.

The blonde looked back to see her brother behind her "No Eric-nii, please don't leave me, I'm scared."

Lahar gave an appointed look to the guard to let Cobra go "As if I'm gonna leave you, come on Sunshine, let's got get your babies."

The blonde smiled a bit, relief showing in her eyes that she was not doing this alone "Let's!"

Arriving at the infirmary, they quickly laid Lucy on the bed and nurses started to file in, they began preparing her also checking if she is good to deliver.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" asked one of the nurses as the other got her out of the dress she was wearing into a hospital gown.

"Bad, really bad!" screamed the blonde as she felt another contraction.

"On a scale of one to ten how much does it hurt?" asked the nurse nicely.

"FUCKING HUNDRED!" she held on to the closest thing next to her and squeezed it tightly. Unfortunately, the thing that she held on to was Cobra's right arm who was about to faint from the pain her grip was causing him.

They started examining her and found her cervix fully open.

"She is ready to go!" yelled one of the nurses.

Lahar thanked every deity there is that they have a medical wing in the headquarters. Guards were stationed all around the room the blonde was in, and also two inside to ensure and interfere in case the prisoner acts.

"Okay, honey I just need you to push, alright? Give me your strongest push! We are going to deliver those babies smoothly."

"Babies?" Lahar questioned, he was also in the room.

"Yes, she has triplets." A nurse replied to him and the man felt sorry for the blonde, he didn't know when he started to care, maybe when he saw how much she affected Cobra, but he liked whenever she was around, she always brought with her light whenever she went.

"Okay ready?" the nurse looked at Lucy who nodded.

"Okay, PUSH!" the blonde started pushing hard, she started screaming and didn't notice that Cobra was screaming with her due to the fact that she was crushing his arm.

She started sweating and Cobra brought a small fluffy towel then started dabbing her forehead "Come on Sunshine you can do this!"

"OH YOU TRY GIVING BIRTH TO THREE BABIES, LET'S SEE HOW YOU HANDLE THIS SHIT!" the blonde cursed as she pushed again.

"Oh I can see the head, just a little more Lucy, come on!" the nurse encouraged the blonde.

"Yeah the head is showing…" Cobra fainted once he saw the head pop from her vagina.

The guards were there to pick him up and out of the room, but they flailed around because they had their eyes closed.

"WAKE THIS MOTHERFUCKER UP!" Lucy was now soaked with sweat, her breathing heavy and hard. She was seventeen and she was giving birth to not one, but three babies. She felt her eyes shut tightly as she pushed one more time then breathed out a sigh of relief.

It was then she heard it, a small cry bubbled in the room as the nurses started cleaning the newborn.

"It's a boy!" one of the nurses exclaimed, unfortunately Lucy couldn't hold him for she needed to push another time.

"Come on honey, come on. One down two to go." The nurse urged the blonde.

"I can't do this, where is Eric? I need him!" Lucy started tearing up as she struggled to breathe.

"Honey, I need you to calm down, alright take a deep breath, your brother will come soon, okay?" cooed a nurse as she caressed Lucy's hair.

Lahar stood there looking at the state the blonde was in and heaved a sigh, he walked out of the room and looked around "Where is Cobra?"

One of the guards answered him "He's down there in the bathroom." Lahar nodded his head and swiveled around, heading to the office.

Back with Lucy, the blonde was barely able to keep herself awake anymore from the fatigue.

"I can see the head, come on Lucy, one more big push!"

Lucy looked around and through her teary eyes saw her first boy sleep in a basket while being bundled in a white baby towel. She then pushed as the nurse requested and it wasn't seconds before she heard another faint cry, she smiled from relief and heaved a sigh.

"It's another boy!"

"Okay, sweetie one more to go, alright you can do this! Come on honey push!"

Outside Cobra had just gotten back from the restroom with the guards, when he was about to enter the room a hand stopped him, he turned around to see Lahar.

"What do you want? She needs me!" breathed Cobra, he felt his whole body tremble, this was the first time he ever saw something like that and even though it was beautiful, it shook him to his core.

"When you are done, if you have any stuff in the cell pack them." Lahar gave him a small smile followed by a pat on the back.

Cobra stood wide eyed "What do you mean?"

"You are going home with her." Lahar simply answered.

"What! How?" Cobra couldn't believe his ears.

Lahar only shrugged his shoulders "I don't know, I guess you grew on me. I always believed that a prison should be a rehab to the prisoners, to make them see the wrong in their doings and change for the better, but it appears that your rehab is your sister, so it is better if you stay with her than stay here."

Cobra felt tears prickle his eyes but was quick to mask it, he wanted to hug the man but a shout from the inside had him dash into the room.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT ASSHOLE?!"

The door opened revealing Cobra with more color to his cheeks than before, the breath of air was needed.

"Where were you?" cried the blonde.

A second was all he needed to be by her side "Don't worry Sunshine I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" sniffled the blonde.

"Promise!" he gave her his signature grin and offered his left hand, the right one was already bruising.

The blonde grabbed it and held on to it tightly "Come on Sunshine PUSH!"

With the encouraging words from her brother and the nurses, Lucy gave one big push then relaxed in the bed. A nurse came next to her to wipe her forehead "You did well sweetie, congratulations! It's a girl…" the nurse smiled softly at the blonde whose eyes started closing "Thank you so much." The blonde breathed out before the darkness swallowed her, she was still holding Cobra's hand as she slept.

Erik brushed the blonde locks that stuck on her forehead and ran his thumb gently on her hand, in a low voice he said "You were amazing Sunshine."

A nurse was walking by but stopped to look at the scene, almost all the other nurses left to tend to the babies and to give the blonde some rest. She smiled at the caring side the prisoner was showing to the sleeping blonde. She slowly came up to him and looked at his right hand "Do you need to bandage your arm?"

"No it's nothing a slayer can't handle, thanks though." He responded his eyes never leaving the sleeping figure of his little sister.

The nurse stood wide eyed with her mouth open, only one thought ran in her mind 'Did the poison dragon slayer, the one infamous for his ruthless words, thank me?' quietly she left the room leaving behind her a sleeping blonde and her dragon kin.

A few hours later Lucy woke in an empty room, panic settled in and she was about to get up when a hot searing pain shot through her private area, she leaned back on the bed groaning.

Cobra came in with a sandwich in his hand, he was about to take another bite when he locked eyes with Lucy "Sunshine!" he happily exclaimed.

She gave him a warm smile "Coco!"

He was about to reach her bed when he stumbled backwards "Coco? The fuck is a Coco?"

She laughed at his reaction, it was so similar to the one Gajeel gave her when she called him Gaj even Gaj-nii.

He sat next to her "How are you feeling?" he asked her gently.

"Like three little humans crawled out of my vagina some hours ago."

He chuckled "Man, you should have seen yourself when you were giving birth, I had no idea you even talked like that!"

She gave him a small giggle then noticed his bandaged arm "Did I do that?"

He looked down at his arm "Yeah don't worry about it." He wondered why she hadn't asked about her newborns yet. He sported a quizzical look on his face making the blonde sigh.

"Coco…"

"Hmm…"

"Do you think I will be a good mom?" he widened his eyes at her question.

"What are you talking about Sunshine?"

She put her hands on her face to cover her tears "I'm so scared! I'm only seventeen Erik, and now I have three babies to care for on my own, and also I don't feel ready to see them, I just feel like I am going to mess this up so bad-"

"Sunshine." He called out to her softly.

"Oh my god what if I turned out to be a horrible mother or something happened to me-"

"Sunshine." A little more volume was let out in his voice.

"I'm terrified that I will ruin the lives of my children, that I am not going to be able to give them a happy life-" a hand was clasped on the blonde's mouth who turned to see a very angry Cobra.

"Never in your life say that you would ruin someone's life. You have no idea how the light that's within you affects people, how it affected me. Sunshine I changed and it was all because of you, and do you know how I am one hundred percent sure that you are going to be an amazing mom?"

She looked at him with teary eyes and shook her head no, he softened his eyes and continued "Because the care you had for those babies in the eight months you held them was amazing, when you used to come visit, your hand would always be rubbing circles on your belly, as if protecting it. You love these little rascals Sunshine, and with your love they are going to have the most amazing life they ever had."

He slowly took his hand off her mouth and she gaped at him "Was the hit on your head that hard?"

He stared at her "What?" then it clicked in and he gave her a wicked smile "Now Sunshine you have to know something, I may be an evil fucker, but when it comes to you angels envy me." He winked at her.

She giggled "But honestly, thank you so much Coco, I really needed that."

"Anytime. Oh also I have something I need to tell you, I am coming with."

"Really?" the blonde was surprised at this news.

"Yeah, Four eyes is putting me under house arrest."

The blonde looked confused then gave him a smirk "Lahar-san?"

He nodded "Yup, he says I grew on him, well it was bound to happen, no one can resist my charms anyway."

She shot him a knowing look "You bet! Is that why you have an ankle monitor?"

"Yup, it is also a magic dampening device, so I also can't use my magic, but at least I'll be somewhat free and comfortable."

"I'm so happy right now, this is amazing news." He smiled at her and leaned in his chair "So, are you ready to see your babies?"

The blonde was hesitant but then nodded, he grabbed the wheelchair next to the bed and sat her in it "They are right in the other room sleeping."

He took her to the other room and opened the door, Lucy greeted the guards standing outside her room and the babies' one as well, who in return congratulated her.

Entering the room, Lucy stared at the three little babies sleeping bundled up together in a massive blanket. She touched their little feet and smiled, she even started crying.

"Oh my god Coco what was I thinking? They are precious little things." Lucy said ashamed of herself for not wanting to see them sooner.

"It's alright Sunshine, you just needed time. But you are right, they are really precious. Have you thought of any names yet?" he asked the blonde who was silently sniffling while looking in wonder at her little miracles.

She gave him a serene smile "No, not really, but I have a few that popped up now."

Just then a nurse came in "Oh sorry if I am intruding, but I need to do the routine check."

Lucy recognized the nurse, it was the one who kept encouraging her "No please, come do your work. Also thank you so much for before."

The nurse smiled and walked in "Don't worry about it dear and you are welcome."

She went to check the charts then turned to the blonde "Do you have any ideas for names?"

The blonde nodded, "Would you like to fill out the birth certificate now?"

"Yes please."

The nurse left then got back with three papers "Here you go." The blonde thanked the nurse then asked her "Who was the first born?"

The woman got closer to the crib and pointed to the one on the left "This one here according to his wristband. The one on the right is the second born, also a boy and the one in the middle is the last born, a girl."

The blonde thanked the nurse yet again, she then left the blonde for some privacy. Lucy started writing down the names of each baby with Cobra hovering on top of her trying to see but the blonde was blocking the view. She reached to a section and froze. Cobra sensing her turmoil peeked and saw what she froze at, it was the father section.

"What you wanna do Sunshine?"

She heaved a breath and wrote Laxus Dreyar on the three papers and Makarov Dreyar in his family part.

"Are you sure?" he asked her but she just hummed and continued filling out the papers.

When she was done Cobra called the nurse using the intercom who came and collected the papers.

She looked down at her three angels and whispered as she caressed the foot of the first born "Welcome to the world Justin Green Heartfilia…" she looked at her baby girl "Layla Erika Heartfilia…" Cobra from behind her widened his eyes "And lastly… Red Bicks Heartfilia, I don't know why but I have the feeling that you are going to turn out just like those two." She lightly smiled at her babies, she put them under her name because she didn't want the questions and pressure that comes with the Dreyar name, also both Makarov and Laxus don't know that these three even exists. At the godfather and godmother section, she put Cobra, and even though they weren't here, she put the names of the Raijinshuu as well as Gajeel, because she believed with a passion that they are still out there, she's holding on to hope with tight fists and she was not planning on ever letting go.

The nurse came back to point out about that matter but the blonde insisted that their names be put, and in the end the nurse relented.

And so, on April 16 year X785, at 4:00 pm, Justin Heartfilia was born; at 4:13 pm, Red was born and at 4:30 pm, Layla was born. And this day will be remembered in history as the day the blonde gave birth to three little babies in jail, it will be a story the kids are going to hear for the rest of their lives.

A week passed by and Lucy was feeling better. The nurses helped and taught Lucy on how to shower her babies and about how to burp them, change their diapers and so on. The shocking this was that Cobra wanted to learn as well about this things, so he and Lucy both were busy this week with baby lessons.

She was sleeping at the moment in the carriage leaning on Cobra who was about to throw up, Lahar sitting opposite of him with two guards next to him, one of them being Mest, and the babies sleeping soundly in a cradling basket.

Reaching Magnolia, the blonde woke up and was about to carry the basket when Cobra beat her to and extended his hand as a gesture to lead the way. Lucy lead them through the forest and was about to reach the cabin when she started noticing some differences.

Just as the cabin came into view, she saw what changed. The cabin was decorated with ribbons and balloons, a huge banner with the words welcome home and another one with Congratulations, the balloons were of pink and blue, the table outside was filled with all kinds of delicacies, meat, fish, whatever a person desired it was found.

All of her spirits appeared before her and bowed "Welcome home, Princess!"

Lucy was baffled "Did you guys… do all of that?"

"It is a gift from the celestial spirit king." Smiled Loke and Virgo continued "He gave us permission to open our gates and organize this, he also handpicked the balloons and the different types of food."

"Really? Stacheface did that?" the blonde asked with excitement and the others nodded "Oh stars, tell him I thank him so much."

The spirits nodded their heads, Cobra and the others were standing behind the blonde, the officers were quick with their work as they determined the perimeters Cobra was allowed to walk in before the alarm went off. They gave him the whole clearing with the lake, they turned to leave when the blonde stopped them.

"Please, stay here and refresh before heading back on your journey." She kindly said to them but they nevertheless declined, it felt as imposing on a special family event.

Lahar turned to Cobra who was keeping watch on the newborns "Stay out of trouble Cobra."

Cobra looked up at him and grinned "I'll try."

Lahar patted Cobra on his back while the latter chuckled, they soon left heading back to their headquarters.

Cobra looked around him and smiled softly at his new home, he was more than happy to be here. He turned around to see Sunshine smiling at him, tiredly she winked at him and whispered "Welcome home Eric-nii!"

At that moment, Cobra felt like crying, which he did… small tears started escaping his eye as the blonde held him in a tight embrace. The kindness and warmth the blonde emitted deeply touched the poison dragon slayer's heart, slowly he returned the hug only to crush her in it "I'm home!" he quietly whispered.

They soon broke apart when Virgo appeared "Hime, please follow me into the cabin to see the rest of the surprise."

"Rest of the surprise?" asked the blonde confused. Virgo nodded then bowed, when she straightened up she turned around and walked in the cabin with Lucy and Cobra following behind her, the newborns were being held by the spirits who chatted away while enjoying the food and drinks.

The blonde walked in to notice that the living room was polished, not a single dust peck was to be seen, also in the kitchen they were three high chairs, one pink and two blue. She saw her spirit go up the stairs and followed her. They stopped in front of Gajeel's room where the spirit opened the door to see the room was fully furnished, a bed in the right corner of the room with black sheets, on the left was a wardrobe and next to it a small desk. A black fluffy rug lay in the middle of the room next to a small black couch.

Cobra sniffed the room and even though it's been cleaned he could still smell the faint smell of Iron Head's smell, he peered at the blonde from the corner of his eye to see her looking around in wonder only to give a small smile.

"Are you sure it's okay Sunshine? I can just sleep in the livi-"

"Of course it is silly! I'm just glad that it's not empty anymore." The blonde looked at him smiling warmly.

"Please follow me into your room Hime, Cobra-sama."

The poison dragon slayer widened his eye at the spirit, but before he could say anything she already had left to Sunshine's room. The blonde opened her room and gasped, three cribs were positioned in the right corner of the room, all packed with toys and blankets, next to them was a rocking wooden chair. In the middle lay her bed with a new change of sheets, instead of the grey one she now had pink ones. In the left corner lay her wardrobe next to a changing table, she also noticed three different small toy chests.

"Virgo… this is amazing, thank you so much." The blonde began sniffling while looking around her room.

"You are the most welcome Hime, we the spirits all chipped in to get the baby furniture ready before you arrived." The spirit bowed.

"What do you mean Virgo?"

"All the spirits who most resembled humans took on jobs in the human world to raise money enough to buy all these things, while the rest helped in the decoration. Surprise Princess." Loke replied from behind the blonde.

Lucy was now full on crying "How the hell did I get so lucky?"

Loke chuckled at his princess as he held her close to him "Believe me, we are the ones who are lucky to have you Princess."

They went down and enjoyed the food with the rest of the spirits, who gathered around to listen to Cobra's story of what happened when Lucy was giving birth, oddly enough, all spirits accepted Cobra's addition to the family, and the slayer felt that he fit in.

All the spirits laughed at the story as Lucy kept throwing things at cobra whenever he made fun of her. She also added in the fact that he passed out when Justin came out when Cobra oh so conveniently forgot to mention it. The night soon came and the spirits said their goodbyes to their princess, everyone left except for Aquarius who stood before Lucy. Cobra was down for the count sleeping on the couch while the babies were sleeping in their cribs after Lucy fed them.

"So, finally a mother huh brat?" Aquarius asked softly as she looked at the night sky while standing beside the blonde.

The blonde hummed in response, the spirit turned towards Lucy and hugged her "Your mother would have been so proud with how you took this head on, Lucy."

The blonde was lost for words at what her spirit said, after a while she returned her hug "Thank you so much Aquarius, you don't know how much this means to me." The spirit broke free from the girl and patted her head as she started to fade back to her world.

Lucy stood for a while outside gazing at the stars that twinkled brighter, she gave them a small smile then went inside the cabin and draped a blanket on Cobra before walking up to her room. She opened it quietly and headed for the cribs, Lucy looked at her sleeping angels in the crib and smiled "This day was perfect, if only you were here, Gaj-nii, Lily, Ever, Bicks and Freed. God I miss you so much guys… you see these people were the ones who took care of me while you were in my belly, they were such amazing people. Your uncle insisted on calling me Bunny the whole time, he even told his exceed that my name is Bunny, can you believe it? Well I guess you don't know what an exceed is, or a bunny for that fact, it's alright, all in due time. Bicks would just make fun of me all the time and roll his tongue, this always caused Ever to swat him with her fan while Freed would just scold him at how he shouldn't disturb a pregnant lady… how I wish they were here to meet you three, I know they were really excited to."

That's how Lucy spent her whole night, telling her sleeping kids stories about her family while sitting in a rocking chair next to the cribs. Morning soon came and cries were heard, Cobra quickly shot up from the couch to Lucy's room, he opened the door to find Lucy breastfeeding Layla, he recognized her from her pink singlet.

Lucy looked up and winked at her brother "You know what to do."

He sniffed the air and groaned, he cursed at himself for deciding to learn with Lucy how to change diapers.

"Okay Red, let's see what you got" he sniffed closely then recoiled quickly.

"He got you the big one didn't he?" the blonde giggled at her brother's expression "Don't worry, I already changed Justin and Layla, so now all that's left is Red."

The slayer nodded and went to change Red "You know, it's amazing how much they look like you, they all have blonde hair huh? Layla also has your eyes while Justin has grey eyes and Red blue eyes."

She chuckled "I know… he also has blond hair, but it's a bit lighter than mine, Layla takes after him with hair but her eyes are the same as mine."

He tensed at the mention of him, but quickly relaxed when he didn't feel uneasiness from the blonde.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Cobra asked as he finished changing Red.

"No, I spent it telling the kids stories." The blonde replied as she stared at her daughter.

"Okay, Red is finished… I'm going to take a shower and will come back right away." The slayer said as he lay Red back in his crib and gave him a lion plush, Lucy already knowing who left it there, Loke left one in all the cribs, also they all had lion onesies, the blonde chuckled at Loke's antics.

"You see that was your uncle Cobra, he may seem mean but he is a teddy bear when you get to know him, especially with you three… I caught him once at the infirmary making faces to entertain you, once he saw me he made me swear to never tell a living soul of what happened, he should've known that wasn't going to happen." The blonde giggled as she remembered Cobra and the faces he made.

XXX

It has been eight months since Lucy gave birth, currently the blonde was buying groceries from the market, she felt refreshed for having gotten out today, those eight months were spent with the kids in the cabin, who now started eating kids food, she was surprised at how much her boys ate. Right now she left them with Cobra who begged her to get out for a while, stating that she needs the rest.

She bought her things and went back home, she opened the door and walked in, putting the bags in the kitchen to unpack them. She heard laughter from upstairs and knew that Corvus was back at it again, it turned out the spirit was a sucker for kids, ever since she brought them back, he has been popping up and finding different things to entertain her kids with, sometimes that involved hitting Cobra because the kids seemed to love that a lot.

She heard a knock on the door and furrowed her brows, Lahar wasn't supposed to come till tomorrow to check on the situation. The blonde shrugged her shoulders and opened the door, her eyes widened when they landed on the figure standing before her, a tall man with mustache and piercing black eyes that bore into her.

The blonde stuttered out "F-father…!"


	9. Chapter 9

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 9**

Cobra was drifting in the lake on his back with his eyes closed, next to him was Layla in a white baby unicorn float, the little blonde was splashing the water beside her. Cobra had his hand on the float to keep her near him and not drift off. He wondered when he became such a sap, it was probably all because of Sunshine, if only the Oracion Seis saw him now, he would probably off himself from embarrassment. This thought made him shudder, to say the truth he somewhat missed his tower cellmates, they were together since they were young, but now they were in jail while he was enjoying himself in the lake.

He heard a giggle and opened his eye to peer at Layla, he saw the girl in her baby one piece swimsuit giggling at the water as she splashed it, she was strapped to the float so she wouldn't fall, but the girl was wiggling trying hard to dump herself in water. He smiled at her, he knew that if they received an ounce of the love and warmth Sunshine provided him and is still, none of his old guild mates would have went down this way.

Sunshine's kids were lucky, that was something he knew for sure. He remembered his days in the tower, how utterly scared and frightened he was, but no one lend him a comforting hug, told him things would get better, told him that he had to stay strong and encouraged him, none of them had, because they all needed it and didn't know what to do. But now, he just has to sigh in front of the blonde and she would bombard him with questions, ask him if he was okay, if something was wrong. And then before he even answers she would already be on her way to hug him… yeah Sunshine's hugs were something he could never tire of, she would hug him and he would feel the most calm and safe in her arms.

He sighed and then closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it. That's when he opened his eye in fright, he smelled something different in the air, a new smell, he knew Lahar was going to come tomorrow, and he knew the man's scent, it always seemed tinged with a lot of guilt, and he noticed it always amplified whenever he looked at the blonde.

Now alert, Cobra shot up from the water and walked closer to the edge, pulling Layla with him. The baby screamed and was about to start crying when he rubbed circles on her back and shushed her, she was furious she got interrupted from her fun. Arriving at the porch, he opened the door and walked in dripping wet.

"Sunshine are you alright? I smelled someone… different." He said the last bit quietly as his eye locked with piercing black one.

He could see Sunshine stiffened in her place, her back to him. He could smell the nervousness coming from her in waves, she turned slowly and smiled weakly.

"Father this is Cobra, my brother… and the girl in his arm is my daughter, Layla." Jude widened his eyes at those words, he looked back and forth between his daughter and his seemed to be granddaughter, then his eyes landed on the maroon haired man with one eye closed, and he eyes him closely… Lucy introduced him as her brother, what did she mean by that.

The blonde continued "Cobra this is my father, Jude Heartfilia." She signaled to the man behind her, her voice quivering from the stress and shock she was feeling at the moment.

Cobra took a sniff of the air around him, the man before him smelt differently than Lucy by a lot, but there was a distinctive smell to him that only screamed Sunshine. He also smelled something vile coming from the man but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Jude cleared his throat and fixed his suit, he was clad in a simple maroon business suit, he locked eyes with Cobra once again and spoke, his voice deep "Nice to meet you… Cobra."

The slayer nodded his head in acknowledgment to the man "Likewise." He figured it would be a good choice to not show the ass side he has to her father, because even though the man was not a mage, he looked intimidating. Now Cobra was not scared at all by the man, he knew that even though he was without his magic, he could easily beat him, but out of respect to Sunshine as well, he decided to be polite, as much as he can. He knew he was going to slip somehow.

Jude then turned to Lucy "Lucy."

She looked at him slowly and nodded, he knew she was still wary around him, after all the mistakes he has done in the past with neglecting her then sending a guild after her because he wanted to sell her off in marriage, were not something someone can easily forget, and he expected that reaction from her.

"May I please speak with you?" he asked as gently as he possibly could. He wanted to elevate some of the wariness from her eyes, and it seemed to do the trick when she relaxed a little and gave him a small smile "Sure."

Just then, Layla started crying stretching out her hands to her mother. Lucy softly smiled at her little girl and crossed the room to get her. Once in her arms, the baby wailed then snuggled in Lucy's neck, the blonde started shushing her and rocked her till she quieted down.

Lucy looked at Cobra and asked "Did she have lunch yet?"

The slayer shook his head no, he then saw Layla shiver a bit and almost face palmed himself, he should have known better, she just got out of the lake. He went upstairs and after a few seconds came back down with a towel, he wrapped it on the little girl and took her from her mother's arms.

"You should go talk to your father. I will hold down the fort here." He gave her his mischievous grin and Lucy knew he was up to no good, and by the sounds coming from upstairs, she knew he was going to troll Corvus. She shook her head lightly at his antics and smiled brightly at him "Alright, don't do anything stupid till I come back."

She went and grabbed her keys, purse, and shades. Walking next to Cobra she kissed the top of her girl's head making the latter giggle "Mommy will be back soon, in the meantime, try as much as you can to wear your uncle up."

"Hey!" Cobra protested.

"Oh please, I know you are up to no good. I'm just taking measurements." She swatted his shoulder.

"Well it won't work, your daughter adores me." He grinned at her. It was only seconds before the grin faltered when Layla started smacking him with her tiny arms on his face while Lucy laughed at him.

"She may adore you, but she is still my daughter, and she knows better than to side against her mother." She winked at him.

She turned around and headed to the door, her father stepped aside to let her walk ahead of him, she called back looking from her shoulder "Take care Coco."

The door closed in his face as he hissed, he hated that nickname with a passion, you would think something as cool as the name Cobra could never be ruined, but then Sunshine comes waltzing in his life only to call him Coco.

He looked down at Layla who was still swatting at his face "You wouldn't always side against you dear uncle would you?"

She giggled as she continued her onslaught on him "Then again if you are anything like your mother I would doubt that." He sighed "Come on Munchkin, let's get you fed."

XXX

Lucy led her father to the clearing she used to train in, all the while her mind was in chaos, questions like how he found her, what does he want, zipped through her mind at an unbelievable speed.

"Relax a bit. Your shoulders are so tense." Jude remarked, he was eying her from the corner of his eye as he walked beside her.

She rolled her shoulders to relax the tension between them "Can you blame me? Don't you find this a bit weird?"

He heaved a sigh and stared before him, the blonde the whole time couldn't meet his gaze, after what just happened, she knew he wanted answers for questions she is not ready to answer, at least that's what she thinks.

"I'm sorry… for everything." The man beside her whispered. Lucy widened her eyes and stopped dead in her track, she slowly looked at the man before her and wondered if she heard right "What?" she softly asked.

"I'm sorry." This time he declared so louder, Jude was a loving father but after her mother died, he became a shell of the man he was, locking everything in his heart except his rage and sadness, which he took out on Lucy. In those times, he forgot what the word sorry means, for he never once used it when he lashed out on his daughter.

"I was a horrible father…" he continued gazing into his daughter's wide brown eyes, the same eyes his wife had "Instead of getting through the death of your… mother like a family should, I pushed you away, I pushed everything away except for work, I lashed out on you, I let all the pent up frustration and anger inside of me on you, I… I failed you as a father."

Lucy was now crying, she tried to wipe away her tears but they kept coming "Why?" she whispered.

The man before her widened his eyes, he thought the answer was clear, but after he thought about it he knew that wasn't the answer she was expecting "Because every time I looked at you, I saw her. And it…" he let out a harsh breath "It broke me."

The blonde before him meekly nodded, she understood what he went through, but it seemed that he was forgetting something "And you don't think that's how I felt?"

Jude was shocked by her answer "What do you mean?"

"You don't think every time I looked in the mirror I didn't see my mother's reflection? You didn't think I was in pain too? The same hair, the same eyes, everything was the same, and when I turned to you for comfort, you shun me out… you shut yourself far away from me, it hurt so bad, because now I had to grieve my mother while wondering what did I do wrong to deserve this attitude from you. That day, I lost both of you."

A tear trailed its way down Jude's cheek, he made his little daughter go through double the pain with his actions towards her, he slowly approached her then all of a sudden he swept her in a bone crushing hug where he cried on her shoulder. Lucy, pretty much in the same condition, hugged him back as she sobbed.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything." He wept as he held her closer. He knew it was going to take time for his daughter to forgive him, but he also knew… that time wasn't something he had much left of.

XXX

Lucy led her father out of the forest and bid him farewell, she got back to the open area she was in before and let out a heavy sigh.

She looked up and saw the sun beginning to set, she wondered back to her conversation earlier with her father…

"_Come back with me… let me take care of you." he gently told her._

"_I don't know dad, there is so much going on I-"_

"_You don't have to tell me anything, I just want to spend time with you and your kids. I will wait for you to be ready." He caressed her cheek, being successful in wiping some of her tears._

"_I will not leave Cobra behind, not a chance of that happening."_

"_He can come too, I would love to get to know him." He smiled at her as she blinked back her tears._

"_Wha- what?"_

_He heaved a sigh "Lucy I want to make up for everything that I did. So please let me, come back to the Heartfilia Konzern."_

"_B-but I heard it got sold!" she stuttered at his answer._

_Jude chuckled and patted her head "I made a successful deal and got a lot of wealth from it, so I bought it back, I worked a lot and got back everything."_

_She stood silent for a moment, he sighed and looked at the setting sun "You know, I went to the Fantasia parade to see you, but it appeared that you weren't there." She widened her eyes 'He came to see me.'_

"_Do you know what I realized back then?" he asked her and she shook her head no._

"_I realized after watching Fairy Tail's show that you were in good hands. But then… I heard what happened, I went and asked the current master of Fairy Tail where you were, only to tell me that you left the guild before the Tenroujima accident, and that's when I knew that something happened to you. The thought of you leaving the guild you stood up for against me baffled me, but it also led me to believe that you had a good excuse. So I searched for you everywhere, and today when I saw you at the market on the outskirts of Magnolia, I followed you. I just want to redeem my mistakes… before it's too late." He whispered the last bit to not alert the blonde._

The blonde looked at the sky seeing the fading yellow turn to orange then be replaced by a soft blue hue. She tightened her hair in a ponytail and ran around the field, she kept running and running to clear her thoughts.

She knew that there was something wrong with her father, she could sense it. But she didn't feel any deceit, he was honest with everything he said. So why? Why now? Why accept her situation with ease? Why not question her about what happened? Why? Why? Why?

Sadly, as she skid to a halt and fell from exhaustion, she didn't know the answer to any of those questions.

When she mentioned that she had three kids, he only smiled at her and said that he would love to meet them, when she talked about Cobra and told him he was a criminal under house arrest, he told her that what he saw was not a criminal, he saw a brother looking out for his younger sister, when she explained the dragon marking thing and about how they mark their kin and the fact that she had another brother, he told her that only she could do this.

Why was he acting this way? She badly wanted to find out, but he just left her to her thoughts and told her that he would leave her to ponder the whole thing.

XXX

Cobra stood outside the cabin, in front of the line he wasn't supposed to cross. He was worried sick about Sunshine, it had gotten late and he still hasn't heard a thing about her.

He put one foot outside the line, he made up his mind, he was going to search for her because he felt it through their link that she was upset. He was about to put the other foot out when he heard a rustle, turning his head upwards he saw a crown of blonde hair coming his way.

"Sunshine you had me fucking… worried." The blonde's face was shadowed as she approached him, before he could ask her what's wrong she flung her arms around him and he quickly reciprocated pulling her in a tight embrace.

"Come on, let's get you to calm down." He pulled her towards the cabin.

"I want some ice cream." She mumbled as she held on to him.

He chuckled "There are still some in the fridge." Cobra sometimes forgot that the girl he was holding is a seventeen year old teen, who never will get to experience as people say, the best age of their life. Well not if he had any say in this!

He released her and crouched down low "Come on, hop on!"

The look on her face brightened as she quickly nodded her head and accepted his invitation to a piggyback ride. Sure, it wasn't going to fix anything at the moment, but at least the blonde felt better. He could only imagine the look on his old guild mates faces if they saw him now, but in truth, when it came to the blonde and her kids, he didn't give a shit about his badass reputation, he just liked to play tough.

When they entered the cabin he put her down on the couch and went to the fridge to retrieve some chocolate ice cream for him and strawberry for Sunshine. After coming back he hands her the ice cream bowl and sits next to her. She quickly opens the lid and starts eating her ice cream after thanking him. He patiently awaits till she's done when he puts his own bowl on the table before him and turns to her.

"Alright Sunshine, what's up?"

The blonde turns to him and sighs "I need a therapy session."

He puts a pillow on his lap and pats it "Bring it."

She lays her head on the pillow and starts telling him all about that happened this day with her father, he was listening intently to what she was saying while running his fingers through her hair. To say that Cobra was surprised was the understatement of the year, he doesn't know how to feel about all of this and the fact stands that he feels the same as Sunshine does, there is something else going on here.

"Do you think a mage took his form?" she asked him as she tilted her head to look at him.

He shrugs "I doubt it, plus when I smelled him there was a faint smell of you in it as well."

This only caused the blonde to huff, she closed her eyes and massaged her temples "What is your intake on this Coco?"

He took a deep breath and thought deeply "Honestly I will do whatever you want Sunshine, but maybe he is really just asking for forgiveness. Plus I might add that you might need to have a decision by tomorrow because Four eyes is coming."

The blonde nodded and got up "Alright, I'll think about it. Are they asleep?"

The slayer grinned at his sister "Yep, fed, changed and asleep. Just how you like em."

The blonde giggled at her brother "Is that so?"

The slayer winked "You betcha!"

She bid him good night and walked up to her room, entering slowly she looked at the cribs to see Layla and Red asleep but Justin wide awake looking at the lion plush in his bed. The minute he saw her he squealed and stretched his arms her way, she giggled and took him in her arms, he quickly nuzzled in her neck.

"How is mama's big boy?" she whispered as she rocked him, she sat in her chair and looked out the window.

"What do you think big boy? Should we move?" she asked him as she held him in her lap.

He giggled and started jumping while she held on to him, grey eyes glimmering with excitement, Lucy smiled at her baby before placing a soft kiss on his forehead "I wonder how you will be when you grow up?"

He looked at her, his little bright smile never wavering from his face "Alright sweetie, it's time for you to go to sleep."

She laid him in her lap and started humming a soft tune that she knew Justin would immediately fall asleep to, she found out that each one of her little babies fell asleep to something, Justin to the tune, Red to the rocking and Layla to a song. Not long after, Justin was fast asleep in his mother's lap, she gently laid him back in his crib only for him to quickly latch on his lion plush.

"I can imagine how big Loke's ego would get if he saw you now." She giggled at her thought, almost immediately, Loke appeared in a shower of gold.

"It's kind of mean of you to not call me to such a great event!" he exclaimed as he crept closer to the crib Justin was in "I have the right to see my plan succeeding."

"Your plan?" the blonde questioned as she peered at her faithful spirit.

"Of course, the plan to make the kids love me and only me from the spirits. And I sure as hell am not going to lose to Birdie." He hissed the last part.

At that moment, a shower of black flecks appeared "As if Kitty, they will always love me more no matter what you do." A deep whispering voice said as he butted heads with Loke.

"Like hell that would happen, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if you were using some charms on them." Loke grit his teeth.

"Why you-"

"You two quiet, because if they wake up, believe me when I tell you that hell would be nothing to what I plan on doing to you two!" Lucy whisper-yelled as both Loke and Corvus shrunk back from her and whispered "Hai!"

The blonde sighed and closed her eyed before smiling slightly "You two are both idiots."

Loke grinned as Corvus winked at her.

"I need to sleep you two, so goodnight and shoo!"

"Princess! Are you kicking me out? You have wounded me severely Prin-"

Loke faded back to his world with a pout on his face while Corvus shook nervously, the blonde turned her gaze towards him "Do I need to force gate closure on your ass too?"

He waved his hands in front of him "Don't bother, I'm gone!" Poof!

Lucy sighed while closing her eyes "Did you enjoy the show Eric-nii?" she whispered.

Cobra's head popped from her doorway "Much!" he grinned as he disappeared back to his room.

"Can you believe that this is your family my little angels? Hmm… I agree with you, they are such a crazy bunch. Goodnight little stars." She kissed her three babies on their forehead and went to sleep.

XXX

Morning soon came, birds chirped outside, the trees swayed softly at the gentle breeze that touched them. Gazing at this scene, Lucy only had one thought running through her head, and it was how much she was going to miss waking up to this beauty, because she made up her mind, she was going back with her father, but she will always come back here. This place held a lot of great memories of her time with Gaj-nii and the Raijinshuu, plus all the memories she made with Erik-nii and her little babies.

Cobra entered her room quietly to not disturb her, but he stopped short when he saw the sun illuminating her serene face as she gazed outside her window.

"So I guess you made your choice?" he asked her softly as he stood beside her enjoying the scene before him as well.

She nodded her head then sighed "I know that back at the mansion, it's better for the kids, but I can't help the sadness that's tugging at my heart."

He pulled her into a hug then spoke "It's alright Sunshine, I think you made the right choice. When the kids grow up, I think…" he didn't know how to continue his train of thoughts, luckily he didn't need to because Sunshine already understood where he was going with this because she nodded.

"I know." Lucy knew that this place is small for five people to live in, the mansion was a better option because not only it's bigger, it has more resources that the kids will need later on that she doubted she would be able to get them alone.

"Oh look, Four eyes is here." He let her go as he pointed his finger to the figure walking out from the trees.

Cobra turned to his sister and gave her a devilish smirk "So you ready?"

The blonde noticed his smirk and wondered out loud "I am, but what is going through your head?"

His grin seemed to widen as he jumped from her window yelling behind him that there is nothing to worry about. Lahar looked up to see Cobra jump from the blonde's window and shook his head, he should have known that the slayer will never change.

Cobra jogged towards him with a serious expression "We need to talk."

Lahar was shocked by the look on the slayer's face but nodded "Alright."

They went and sat on a boulder next to the lake. Cobra was studying the man's reactions when Sunshine appeared by to greet the man, he could smell the tinge of guilt strengthen when the blonde shook Lahar's hand, lahar's heartbeat increased as if he was afraid of something. When the blonde left the two of them alone with some lemonade that she made, Cobra turned to Lahar "Alright explain why do you feel guilty around Sunshine."

The man in question almost dropped his lemonade "Wha- what are you talking about?"

"You know you can fool anyone but not a dragon slayer." Cobra tapped his nose "I can smell the guilt washing all over you, and I noticed how it increased the last couple of times you visited."

Lahar heaved a sigh, removed his glasses to wipe them then put them back on. He leaned closer with his hands under his chin "Do you remember the accident a year ago?"

Cobra nodded "Of course I do."

Lahar sighed once again as he rubbed his temples "Well before they went on this trip, the council had a meeting to figure out a way to disband Fairy Tail because of the destruction they cause."

Cobra nodded, he always heard about the destruction Team Natsu caused from Sunshine, hell he witnessed it first hand with Nirvana.

"So we sent someone to infiltrate them, his name was Mest, the guard who put the monitor on you."

At this, Cobra raised his eyebrows "The man with the scar?" Lahar nodded "I suppose you sent him to find a way to disband them from the inside." Everything the man was saying didn't sit well with him, but Cobra knew it was going to get worse.

"When the fight happened, the council was ready to fire Etherion on the island to wipe everyone there. But then Acnologia came and wiped the island."

Cobra's whole world seemed to freeze, he didn't register what the hell the man before him said, his mind ran rampant of endless possibilities of what would have happened if sunshine was there. After a while he chuckled, then it turned to a full blown cackle, Lahar stood flabbergasted at the man before him, after telling him all of that how could the man laugh?

When cobra stopped laughing, he looked directly in Lahar's eyes that the latter shivered from the intensity of it.

"So you are telling me that the magic council, that is supposed to protect every fucking person, was ready to kill a guild just because of the destruction they cause?"

Lahar stood paralyzed, Cobra's eye seemed to be digging deep in his soul. He wanted to say something but he couldn't, that didn't mean that Cobra was going to relent with his brutal words "The guild that has done so much good for this world, saved a lot of people, broke a fraction of the Balam Alliance, a job that was meant for your council buddies, was condemned to death? If I didn't grow up the way I did, I would see myself joining Fairy Tail."

His words cut deep through Lahar, now he understood what Mest was feeling. Now he no longer questioned why the man quit after the blonde delivered her kids, he finally saw it from Doranbolt's point of view, the man was shattered by what he had done.

"Funny how murderers are judging criminals, don't you think?"

Cobra's question rang inside Lahar's head. Cobra was beyond furious by what he learned, he couldn't imagine the thought of the council, that condemned his guild mates to prison, was ready to kill innocent people. People he started to like by the stories Sunshine told him all the time. And then he thought of Sunshine, and how heartbroken she would be if she ever learned of this.

"Is that why?" Cobra asked Lahar who only nodded. He should have known earlier that the fact why he is living here with Sunshine wasn't because of him and the bond he has with the girl, it was because of Lahar's guilt that was slowly eating the man up. Though Cobra wasn't ungrateful, he was able to be with his sister after all and he didn't really give a fuck about how.

Cobra leaned in and whispered "Sunshine does not hear of this, you fucking understand? Also, relax, I ain't mad with you, you were just following orders."

Lahar nodded in understanding, he was doing all of this to lessen the guilt that had clutched to his heart, but Cobra's words made it all the more worse, because he never saw it like the slayer did, he saw it as his fault, and it appears that Doranbolt saw it the same, but Cobra saw the fault in the council and not in him. It was then that Lahar thought of all the bad things the council did over the years, of all the secrets they kept from the people, and he almost couldn't believe that he was working for them. He stopped himself at this thought, he is working to keep the peace in the world and not to follow orders. He looked at Cobra with determination "Thank you." he curtly said.

The slayer grinned at him "For what?" he saw the determination that flashed in the man's eyes, and he was glad for the man.

Lahar just shook his head "Never mind." After taking a deep breath, he asked how they were doing, and that was then Cobra told him about the fact that they were moving which shocked Lahar but he didn't comment about it.

Lucy then appeared from the porch "Hey if you guys are done, can we get moving? I assume by the shocked look on Lahar-san's face he already knows."

"Yup, we'll be back in a bit." Cobra reassured the blonde as she nodded at him and disappeared back inside.

"Come on let's go." Cobra patted Lahar on his back and left to go in the cabin. Lahar watched the retreating figure of the slayer, and he couldn't help but think how much has the slayer changed, the last thing on his mind to happen was to be reassured by a criminal. He looked at the blonde who was swatting the slayer because he was teasing her 'Just how much did he change? And was it all because of you Lucy-san?'

"Yo Four eyes, hurry up. We ain't got the whole day." The blonde smacked the slayer on his head for yelling so loud that he woke the kids up.

He shook his head and went after them, because of Cobra he realized many things, he was able to see the fault in the magic council in a much bigger picture and he was determined to work on it.

While he and Cobra walked ahead, the blonde trailed behind them slowly, she could feel a bit of tension between the two of them, even though it's faint, it was still noticeable. She looked behind her to the fading cabin and smiled sadly 'This is not the end, it's just the beginning.' She thought as the cabin faded completely out of view, a lone tear slid down her face that she quickly wiped away.

XXX

They were on the road that led to the mansion. Before they left Lahar disabled all the sensors and brought them with him, while Lucy and Cobra took everything they needed from the cabin. It was left almost the same except that they took their clothes as well as the babies's, and threw out the food.

Cobra was looking around him while holding the baby basket, Layla was sleeping while Red and Justin were wide awake. He was holding Red while Justin was clutching to his mother's neck.

"Wow, such a nice town." He noticed the scattered houses here and there. He immediately turned his head to Sunshine when he heard her laughing.

"What's so funny Sunshine?"

She was laughing so hard that tears started to form at the corner of her eyes, Lahar looked perplexed at the blonde next to him while Cobra looked annoyed that she wouldn't answer him.

"God you remind me so much of them." She breathed as she wiped her tears.

"Who?" Cobra asked already dreading the answer.

"Team Natsu." At this Lahar flinched a bit.

"Fuck no!" he yelled loud enough that woke Layla up and she started crying.

"Seriously Cobra?" she rolled her eyes at him and turned to Lahar, handing him Justin "Please hold on to him tightly." Lahar could barely comprehend what was going on but he held on tightly to the baby while Cobra chuckled at his red face.

Lucy picked up her daughter from the basket, the baby was fussing and screaming about "Oh my poor girl, your mean uncle woke you up from your little nap didn't he?"

"Hey that was not my faul-"he quickly shut his mouth when she peered at him from the side, but he continued to mutter the rest.

"The reason why I was laughing is because this is our garden not a town, and team Natsu said the same thing about it."

Cobra and Lahar almost stumbled when they heard what she said "This is your garden Sunshine?" she nodded "Damn! This place is fucking huge."

They walked a bit further until they saw the figure of her father, behind him stood the workers of the house. The minute they spotted Lucy, they all started fawning over her. Lucy greeted everybody then met up with her dad.

"When you called me this morning I was ecstatic with the response you gave me. Welcome home dear daughter." Jude smiled warmly at his daughter as he guided her in the mansion.

They all entered through the main hall and went into the living room. It was still as Lucy remembered, tile beige floors with a white table in the center of the room, surrounding it are beige colored couches with white pillows decorated with Yellow flowers. A white fireplace on the wall between two balcony doors and huge windows overlooking on a beautiful garden filled with different roses. This was her mother's second favorite room because of the view it overlooked. At the far end of the room is a huge bookcase filled with ancient tomes and biographies of some very famous people.

Jude ushered them to sit down while Spetto went to the kitchen to prepare some tea, she arrived minutes later and handed them each a cup of tea before going back to the kitchen. Red and Layla were both in the basket playing with their plush while Justin who was still being held by Lahar decided it was a good time to nap, so he lay asleep in Lahar's arms while the latter was still flustered from what happened earlier.

The blonde turned to check on Lahar only to see him with a red face and his body stiff as a stick as he held on to Justin. Upon feeling that someone was looking at him Lahar turned to lock eyes with Lucy's brown one, pools of brown that were swimming with mirth, before he could say anything though she beat him to it.

"Lahar-san you are a natural in this, you also look good while holding a baby." She grinned once she saw his already red face turn to darker shades of red. Beside her, Cobra couldn't breathe from how much he was laughing, even her father looked amused at the man's reaction.

"I-i…" the poor man stuttered as he tried to regain some self-esteem, unfortunately though, after his stutter he knew that chance flew out the window when he saw even Jude let out a small chuckle while Lucy was now full on laughing next to Cobra. He used to doubt whenever Cobra said that this was his sister, not anymore he won't, not anymore.

He cleared his throat and was about to talk when a fart noise sounded from the little creature he was holding in his arms. At this both Lucy and Cobra let out booming laughs and started crying, hell Jude joined in while Lahar detached his other hand from the baby to clasp his nose with it.

Lucy got up to retrieve Justin from the poor man who gladly gave him to her, she turned to her father with a quizzical look "Father, is there a place where I can change Justin?"

Jude nodded his head "Yes, upstairs, Spetto will take you." he called the woman's name and shortly after she came and led Lucy up the stairs.

Meanwhile with the men, Lahar explained what was to happen and what was going to be added to the landscape, Jude gave his permission and Lahar left to make preparations.

Now both alone in the room, Jude turned and eyed the man his daughter calls _brother_, Cobra noticing that he was being studied by the man before him, returned the favor. He noticed his sharp face and piercing eyes before, but now there was something bugging him about the man before him, he seemed tired and restless, unnoticeable bags under his eyes showed as he took in a shaky breath, and before he could stop himself he took a sniff of the air, that was when he scrunched his nose up in disgust, the man smelled like death, it was also when it clicked in his head the reason why he wished to seek forgiveness from his daughter.

He cleared his throat and looked at his sister's father "How long?"

The man in question closed his eyes and let out a deep breath while crossing his arms "How?"

Cobra tapped his nose "I'm a dragon slayer, and being one comes with certain advantages, one being that my senses are all heightened. I can smell it. So how long?"

Jude opened his eyes and fixed them on Cobra, he got up from his chair and went to the bar "What do you like Cobra?"

"Whatever you're drinking." Replied Cobra as he leaned back in the couch.

Jude brought back two glasses of whiskey and handed one to Cobra before sitting back in his couch "It's funny isn't it, how all this time I ran after money, only to run out of time. I was a fool back then, to drive her away from me… and I wish I could turn back time, but sadly I can't. The least I can do is use whatever time I have left to gain her forgiveness and get to know her, be the father I should have been. So to answer your question, couple of years at most."

Cobra took his time to digest all the new information the man before him gave, he played with his glass before he asked the man if he was going to tell his daughter.

"I don't want to worry her, she has enough of problems. I know…" Cobra met his gaze "I know that something horrible happened to her, she doesn't need to tell me, I already see it in her eyes. So I want to free her of an extra burden to carry, I will do whatever she wants, get her whatever she needs, that's how I want these couple of years to be."

The slayer nodded "If you are asking me to keep it a secret I will only do so because it's not my business to tell, though I do believe it's your daughter's business. Just saying, give your daughter more credit, she faced a lot of things by now and though I do agree that she doesn't need any more, you are her father and she deserves to know."

Jude listened to the slayer speak while gazing at his almost empty glass "I do believe you are correct, but…" he looked up at Cobra "How does a father tell his daughter that she's going to lose yet another person?"

This question sucked the air out of the room as both men felt the pressure from the situation, and they were relieved when Lahar walked in and explained where the sensors were put before he left. Cobra had access to almost the whole Heartfilia's land, which he was over the moon to find out, it meant that he would be able to explore the land and get some breath of fresh air, not like he wasn't happy back there at the cabin but here the land is way wider than back there.

Meanwhile with Lucy, she just reached the top floor and was following Spetto-san to a room at the far back of a long hallway. She started to look on the pictures framed on both walls of the hallway, she saw that the whole mansion stayed the same but this hallway, it used to be empty with only a few vases of flowers here and there, now the walls were adorned with the color burgundy as a deep red carpet stretched at the length of the hallway. Pictures and images of her and her parents when she was a kid decorated the walls, she also found one of her mother at the end of the hallway next to another one showcasing her father.

Reaching the door, Spetto-san opened it only for Lucy's eyes to bulge wide open. It was a nursery room.

"How the hell did he have time…?" Lucy couldn't continue her question, Spetto gave the blonde a soft smile and answered her question "The minute he arrived yesterday back home, he made some calls to prepare some stuff and have brought in to work immediately, the room was full and ready this morning."

Tears started forming at the corner of the blonde's eyes, any doubt she had of her father and the situation vanished from her mind completely. The blonde looked at the woman next to her "But how was he so sure that I will." She chocked on the last bit.

Spetto patted her on her arm and sighed "He said that he knew, he knew you will forgive him and come here, he even betted on it. He said that you have the biggest heart there is, he sounded very confident with what he was saying. And I believed him, I still remember when you were young and I knew from back then that you have the biggest heart, you never let failure stop you from doing what you want, nor do you let your fear or consequences do so. I missed you so much, welcome home Lucy-sama."

At the end of her little speech both the blonde and the woman were crying "Oh Spetto-san, I missed you too." She hugged the woman while holding onto now a woken up Justin with her other hand.

Now facing the room once again, she sighed with a small smile on her face. The walls were light blue while the carpet was a blue gray color. She saw three cribs, one blue, one red and the last a pink one. She saw a white rocking chair next to them with a bed to the other side of the room, she figured it was for if she ever wanted to stay with her kids. She saw the huge white wardrobes lined next to each other, on the floor were toy boxes scattered around, changing tables, high chairs, everything that was meant to be in a nursery, it was in this room. But Lucy's favorite thing was the huge window in the center of the room that overlooked the garden her mother spent a great amount of time on taking care of.

She quickly changed her baby, the minute she was done she turned around only to see her faithful spirit hunched over the cribs with a lion plush in his hand. She also noticed that two of the cribs already contained one.

"Loke what are you doing?" he almost jumped out of his suit when she called out to him. The spirit had the nerve to look at her over his shoulder and smirk "Marking my territory before a birdie swoops in."

Lucy had to restrict every urge she had to kick the living daylights out of Loke. Instead she shook her head and went downstairs with a clean Justin in her arms. The minute she entered the living room she handed Justin to Cobra and threw her arms around her father "Thank you so much, it's beautiful."

The man circled his arms around the blonde and held her tight "I'm glad you like it."

Cobra looked at the two of them and he was at a loss of words, he didn't know what to do so he just stood awkwardly to the side. Jude noticing the weird behavior the slayer was showing, stepped away from the hug and opened his other arm "Join us son."

The blonde looked at her father with wide eyes but then a smile formed on her face while Cobra, he just stood there dazed. This man just called him son and he doesn't even know him, he didn't know how much he needed to hear this word in his life, but what baffled him with the kind look he had in his eyes, the man was looking at him like he has known him his whole life. Like he appreciates his existence and does not give a fuck about his past. That alone was what made Cobra's legs move and join in the hug. The blonde snaked her right arm around his waist while the man clasped his left arm around the slayer's shoulder. And they both held him tightly.

…

Lucy was now in the nursery room watching her three babies sleep in their respective cribs. Layla in pink, Justin in blue and Red in… well red. Cobra peeked his head from the door and walked in while whispering "Sunshine did you see my fucking room? It's HUGE!"

The blonde giggled at her brother's reaction and shushed him with her finger "Be quiet they are sleeping."

The slayer stood there with a baffled expression "You do know I was whispering… right?"

The blonde giggled once again quietly "I do know you are whispering but Red and Justin hear the slightest of noise and I do not want them up."

He came to stand next to her "Oh look how Munchkin is sleeping!" he squeaked and quickly clasped a hand to his mouth, he looked next to him to see Sunshine gaping at him with her mouth wide open "What the fuck… was that?"

A pink tint that was barely visible on his tanned face appeared "A dragon… chuckle."

At this the blonde snapped her mouth shut and held her hand to her mouth to stifle the giggles, tears started forming at the corner of her eyes and her face become redder, she started shaking from the force of her laugh that she fell on the floor clutching her stomach while crying from laughter. Cobra stood there whisper-yelling at her to 'stop laughing' and continued on with threatening her while saying that this does not leave the room. He couldn't help it with how cute Layla looked asleep in her lion onesie while sucking her thumb and holding the lion plush with her other hand, and this was how he usually talked with her when they were alone.

"Okay, seriously quit it! It just slipped!" he hissed quietly at her.

"Okay sorry, sorry. But man she has you wrapped around her finger eh?" the blonde chirped while wiping her tears.

He gazed at Layla softly "Yeah… she has." The blonde grinned at the man and poked him on his shoulder "Wanna have a sleepover?"

The slayer quirked his lips "You betcha!"

Lucy brought the pillows and sheets from the bed near her while Cobra brought the ones in his room, they laid them on the floor and sat down.

"Oh shoot gotta turn off the lights." Cobra jumped up and turned off the lights.

A small light shone on the ceiling and both the slayer and the blonde looked up in amazement.

"Wow! It's just like the night sky!" the blonde mumbled as her eyes radiated the awe and happiness she was feeling.

"This is beautiful." Cobra commented as he laid down next to the blonde on their makeshift bed.

"How didn't I notice this before?" Lucy asked as she started aligning some constellations that were portrayed on the ceiling.

"He really went all out huh?"

"Hey wanna make a bet on the kids?" Lucy asked her brother.

"What do you have in mind?" Cobra quirked an eyebrow at her question.

"I bet that Justin and Red are both going to be dragon slayers." The blonde replied.

"It's kinda obvious, let's change the bet to what type, I bet one celestial and one lightning."

The blonde tapped her chin in thought "Alright, I bet both are lightning dragon slayers."

"You sure Sunshine?"

"Yup, and the bet will be that the winner will get to do whatever they want with the loser."

"Deal, you are going to lose Sunshine, that's a fact. But what about Munchkin?"

"Hmm, I dunno, I mean it's obvious she's not a slayer."

The slayer nodded "Yup! Let's just keep the bet on the boys for now."

"Alright."

Lucy looked at her brother to see him lying next to her with his eyes closed, after a few minutes she could hear him snoring.

"What a sleepover." She giggled as she covered her brother with a white sheet and left the room quietly. She trekked down the stairs and out in the garden. She looked in awe at the condition the garden was in, it was kept clean and tidied up, all the flowers that were there when she was young bloomed before her, it brought back too many nostalgic feelings, after all this was the garden she had her most important birthday party in.

"This was one of your mother's favorite places." Jude remarked from behind his daughter, which led to his daughter squeaking and falling on her butt.

Jude chuckled at her as he extended his hand to help her up "My apologies."

The blonde giggled as she accepted his offered hand "No worries. By the way, the ceiling in the nursery…"

"Ah you saw it, hope you liked it."

"Dad, I love it. Thank you so much." She smiled at him warmly and he reciprocated her.

They stood staring at the night sky when Jude broke their silence "Layla would be proud of you." The blonde swiftly turned to look at her father who kept his gaze on the stars "I know she is watching right now, with a smile on her face, proudly pointing out that you are her daughter." He sniffled as did Lucy "God I feel like she is going to kill me when I join her."

The blonde quickly latched her arms around him "Don't talk like that dad, please. You are not going anywhere, and I already forgave you so you shouldn't worry about mom, I'm pretty she forgave you as well."

He held his daughter close to him as he cried, thinking of how he failed both his wife and his daughters "I'm sorry." He kept on repeating while Lucy held him closer to her and reassured him that everything is alright.

XXX

Lucy lay on the wet grass as she tried to labor her breathing. She was going to kill him. She was going to skin him alive and feed him to the sharks. She was going to hang him upside down from the porch and watch as the birds pecked at his flesh.

"Come on Sunshine it wasn't that hard."

She grabbed a small rock beside her and threw it at his head "Not that hard?! Are you an idiot! You do realize I am not a dragon slayer."

He has been agonizing her for the past three hours straight, she was tired and hungry, not to mention all sweaty.

"That was seriously uncalled for. Come on Sunshine we have been doing the same training routine for two years now, you still haven't gotten used to it?"

She straightened up her back and glared at him "Yes, we have been so why did you decide that today we would be throwing huge rocks at each other? No let me rephrase that, why did you decide that today you would be throwing huge rocks at me?"

"Because Sunshine we need to work on your reflexes, at hand to hand combat you have become amazing, at defense you have far improved from where you have been, and that whip, you are a demon with it… but your dodging skills need some work, so that's why I am throwing rocks at you. Your speed and reflexes could use some work."

Here she thought that Gaj-nii was a demon while training, the asshole before her turns into a sadistic demon when training another person. She heaved a sigh and popped her bones. Since they moved two years ago back to the mansion, both her and the slayer decided that they will train together in the morning at 6, she wanted to do so to get rid of the excessive body fat after the pregnancy and for Cobra, it was to stay in shape.

"I'm going to meditate a bit alright?" the blonde informed the slayer.

"Alright I'm going to take a shower and wake up the little rascals." He said as he turned towards the trek to the back door. The minute the words left his mouth the door flew open and three heads of blonde shot through it.

"Mommy!" three little blondes yelled in unison.

"Hey I'm also here." The poison dragon slayer huffed.

The three heads turned towards him "Coco!"

One particular blonde ran to him with her arms outstretched ready to throw herself at him, he crouched low ready to accept the hug when she ran past him and into the outstretched arms of another man. Jude looked at him with a smirk as he held onto to Layla "My granddaughter has an impeccable taste." Cobra stood there gawking at the scene that happened before him.

"Sowwy Coco, but jiji pwomised me pancakes!" Layla pouted at him and he couldn't handle the look she was giving him so he turned away.

"No way, uncle Coco is mad that you betrayed him."

"Uncle Coco…" Layla whimpered, Jude looked at her and soothed her "Don't worry honey, uncle Coco is just mad that he lost yet another time to me."

"Oi, old man! Yesterday does not count! And I am sure as hell that you cheated."

"Erik-nii…" he turned to his Sunshine to see her tickling both Red and Justin "You lost fair and square yesterday, so stop pouting about it you sore loser. You are just not good with poker."

"Sunshine… not you too!" he feigned his hurt as he clutched his shirt right above the heart.

"My god, honestly the Loke disease is spreading." The blonde chuckled as she saw the horror settle on her brother's face.

"Do never. EVER. Compare me to that idiot." The slayer seethed but before he could do anything Red already snuck away from his mother's torture to jump on his uncle's back.

"Uncle Coco!" he latched on his uncle's back tightly as Cobra tried to steady himself from the sudden increase in weight.

"Oi kid, how many times have I told you not to do that?!"

"But it's fun!" was Red's simple reply.

"Okay come on kids, let's go inside for breakfast." The blonde clapped her hands together and ushered the kids inside. Honestly with the kids, there was never a dull day.

After they showered and ate breakfast, they stood outside the mansion to say their farewells.

"Dad be safe on your business trip, and don't worry I already contacted our client and informed him about the changes to the contract, so everything is prepared, you just need to get there and approve the building then all is set." The blonde reassured her father as she hugged him tightly. Ever since she returned she started helping her father and the business bloomed, now she was his appointed partner, she helped him with finance, management and all there is to do.

"Alright, thank you my young partner." He kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry about it boss." She winked at him "Also, can you please hand this to the mail messenger?" she gave him a folder and he instantly knew what it was.

"Of course." He turned towards Cobra "I look forward to our next poker match."

The slayer snickered "Old man, next time I will be prepared so you better bring it."

Jude grinned at the slayer and gave him a pat on the shoulder as Cobra did the same. Ever since the slayer found out about his sickness, he and Jude became close fast, they bonded while playing poker, drinking, and watching after the kids while their mother was in business meetings. So when the news came that Jude's health was becoming better, Cobra was over the moon that his Sunshine won't suffer and that he won't lose someone dear to him.

"Be careful out there old man." The slayer softly said.

"You too son, you too." Jude patted him once again as he moved on to his three little grandkids. He crouched down low and crushed them in a hug "You three be good to your mom."

"Of course!" they all cheered. "We will be good so that you bwing us back presents!" Red yelled loudly in excitement while his other siblings nodded enthusiastically.

"Honestly dad, you spoil them way too much." The blonde shook her head at her kids's antics.

"It's alright, I like it!" the man smiled as he once again hugged his daughter. When Lucy opened up to him about what happened to her, he was more than mortified to know what happened to his daughter, and he blamed himself even more for his past mistakes. The what ifs plagued his mind constantly for a while, until she told him that if she doesn't regret it, because the blessings that got out of this bad situation far outweighed the bad. He was baffled by her response and tried his hardest to make up for what happened to her, one of the ways was spoiling her and her kids rotten, the idiot also!

With this he bid them farewell and left in the carriage. He looked back to see Layla perched on Cobra's shoulders waving her hands goodbye with the others as well, all grinning and some wishing him luck. Jude considered himself a lucky man with a beautiful family.

He looked ahead and his eyes stopped at the folder he was holding in his hands. Ever since Lucy started working with him, the money she made would be divided between for Fairy Tail and for her kids. The folder he is holding in his hands contained 100 thousand jewels for the Fairy Tail guild that his daughter would send every month and would always task him with dropping it off in the mail office.

…

It's now 4 pm, the kids were taking their naps and Lucy was working in the office. Cobra was checking up on the kids to see them all sleeping together in the bed. He closed the door behind him when he heard a ring coming from Lucy's office, he shrugged it off and went downstairs to grab something to eat.

He spotted the chef, Zeno, cooking up some chicken.

"Yo Chef, how you doing?"

The man in question rolled his eyes at Cobra's unoriginal and stupid nickname for him "Hello Cobra-san, I am alright. How are you doing?"

"Please drop the san, I feel myself gagging whenever I hear it." He made gagging motions with his hands and mouth.

"Always the dramatic one, how may I help you?"

Cobra grabbed an apple "You could by telling me where the stash is? Sunshine just won't let me!" the slayer whined.

"And I believe it's with good cause too. Red-sama was about to do the same."

"Like I would let one of these rascals drink bleach. So… you know?" he asked him with his infamous grin as he bit into his apple, only to stop mid-bite and release his hold on his apple, letting it fall on the kitchen floor as he raced up the stairs. Zeno stood there and knew… something has happened.

Cobra ran up the stairs as fast as he could, he knows that sound very well, he has heard it a lot of times already, more than he would like. The famous smell lingered in front of her door as he opened it hastily.

"Sunshine?" he asked softly.

"Thank you, I understand." She was standing with her back to him, her voice above a whisper. She disconnected the call and put the communication lacrima back on the desk.

Cobra watched her every move, the way her hand went limp next to her side after she left go of the lacrima, the way her shoulders shook, the strangled sob that was let out from her as she tried her best to keep it all in.

"He's gone… Erik my dad died." She turned to face him and he saw the sadness swim in her eyes, smelled the despair that washed from her as she fell to the floor while letting out her cries of pain. She pounded the floor with her fist while repeating the question over and over… Why?

Cobra didn't move from his spot, he froze as he saw the condition his Sunshine was in. But he couldn't help her, for as he brought a hand to his face, he also realized that he himself was crying. Crying for her lost… for the man who he thought of as a father figure.

He heard commotion from the downstairs and someone's footsteps racing towards them. Lahar came tumbling from behind Cobra into the office out of breath. He looked up to see the blonde on her knees crying while the slayer was gripping the door handle tightly.

"What do you want Lahar?" the slayer whispered. Lahar widened his eyes, in all the years he knew Cobra, he never once called him by his name.

"I just wanted to inform you that… the other members of the Oracion Seis escaped from prison… what happened here?"

But as he looked at Cobra, at Lucy, he knew that his problem was nothing compared to what happened to them.

**Hello! How are you doing?**

**Just wanted to tell you that these few upcoming chapters are going to be longer. Also as you can see, I'm a cliffhanger maniac, so expect more in the future ;p. Thank you everyone for your support, favorites, follows and the reviews. It brings a smile to my face whenever I read them… and I would like to know your opinions of the story, and what do you think might happen when they meet again… you know who I'm talking about, it's going to be legen- wait for it –dary!**

**Also know that a lot, A LOT, is going to happen these upcoming chapters, so stay tuned. And who do you think will win the bet?**

**KAWAIINECKO, signing out!**


	10. Chapter 10

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 10**

_Why?..._

A simple one word question that could mean many things, could derive into many different questions… such as why was Lucy sad? That's easy because her father died; why did he die? Because there was a fire in the hotel he was staying at; why was there a fire? Because a worker accidently left the stove in the kitchen working and the next thing they know the kitchen is on fire and soon after the whole building.

But this was a different why to Lucy, the others she knew the answer to, but this one she didn't, and it was oh so simple… why does everyone she cares for ends up dying? First her mother, then her brother and best friends, and now her father.

And then there is a why that peeved her to no end, that messed with her mind and left her a sobbing mess… why didn't he tell her?

She looked down at the papers before her, and what irked her are the following words.

_**Patient's name: Jude Heartfilia.**_

She doesn't know how many times she has read these medical papers, but whenever she would cross a specific section, it would still feel as the first time she read it…

_**Patient has been diagnosed with lung cancer, stage 3… curable… treatment effective immediately…**_

Small water drips were heard as Lucy gazed down at the papers, she looked to where the drips fell only to see it's at the word cancer. The blonde slowly wiped away her tears as she let out a quiet sob. She put the papers back in the drawer and turned in her chair, she was right now in her father's office sitting in front of his desk and reading the papers. This was her new routine for the past week and a half, she remembered the day she went to the scene and the doctor who was present there, his words echoed in her head…

"_Miss Heartfilia I am very sorry for your loss, your father died suffocating in his room, it appears he was sleeping and he didn't notice till it was too late, and with his sickness he didn't make it out in time."_

"_Sickness?" the blonde questioned._

"_Oh my, you didn't know?" the doctor widened his eyes._

"_Know what?"_

"_Your father had stage 3 lung cancer, he was being treated in the hospital I work at…"_

_The doctor continued but Lucy didn't hear him, her mind went blank after what he told her, that night when she came back home she went through all of his stuff in his office until she found his medical records in a safe behind a bookshelf._

She didn't know what she was supposed to feel, he kept quiet about his condition even after she opened up about what happened to her, he helped her back then and she was so furious at herself that she couldn't help him, because she didn't know.

But that was no excuse, she should have known, she should have paid attention. Should have noticed the way Cobra would look at her father with sad eyes and the latter reciprocating the look, she should have understood what it meant… Cobra should have told her!

Another thing she was mad at, the fact that Cobra knew and didn't tell her, the fact that since she confronted him about it he said something that made her furious, and ever since she just avoided him, and she could see and feel that it was affecting him badly but she just felt betrayed, she told him everything and always trusted him, why didn't he tell her?

'Huh, same why different person…' the blonde thought as she looked outside the window, it was pretty late at night, peaking at the clock she confirmed it was 2 am.

But… what he said back then was true…

"_How could you not have told me?! I have the right to know!" the blonde sobbed._

"_The man was trying to make his daughter happy, was trying to not worry her with his problems, stop being an ungrateful brat! He just wanted to make you happy! And he was getting better so he didn't feel the need to let you know." He didn't mention the fact that he told Jude multiple times that he should tell his daughter, because it felt as if he would be putting the blame on the deceased man, and he felt if he did that Lucy would be more pissed at her father and him. He also didn't mean to snap on her, but he couldn't take her attitude for he too was grieving, he as well just lost someone he holds dear._

"_Not to make me worry!? Are you out of your mind, I have the right to worry, I am his daughter!"_

"_And he was your father, so he had the right to know what happened to you if you want to take it that way, would you appreciate it if I told him what happened to you behind your back?!" he spat out, the blonde froze then suddenly dashed out of the office to her room and slammed her door behind her, while the slayer was left in the office running his hands through his hair due to frustration._

Yes, it was true. If he told her father when she wasn't ready about what happened to her she would have been really upset…

She heard the door creak open but didn't turn around, she already knew who it was, "Sunshine you should sleep, it's already 2 am." He said softly, he knew she was sensitive at the moment, but he couldn't but be a bit annoyed with the way she was acting, after all he also lost his father figure, and he was left to take care of the kids because Lucy simply couldn't handle them when they would ask her about their grandpa.

"Yeah, I know…" she whispered knowing that he would hear her, she couldn't believe that he was still looking after her after all she said and done, she knew she messed up, they both did that night but she did the most. He heaved a sigh and closed the door behind him, he was done! He was tired of her cold attitude and silent treatment, he wanted his Sunshine back and he would do anything for her, he was about to open his mouth when she spoke up.

"You know, I don't deserve you…" she started and he shut his mouth "You have been nothing but a great help but my stubborn ass is being ungrateful. I shouldn't have been so mean, but…" tears started escaping once again "I'm scared!" she turned to him and he could see the shattered expression in her eyes, he could hear the unsteady and frantic heartbeat of hers, he could smell the fear she was sensing… and it broke his heart bit by bit.

"Of what?" he asked her softly.

She locked eyes with him and with a sob that escaped her, she said something that completely shattered his heart "Am I going to lose you too?"

Cobra didn't know what happened but to him it was almost like the whole world stopped at the moment, and all his focus was on the blonde before him.

"Why does everyone I care about just dies Eric-nii?! Why?!"

He didn't know what to do, he just stood there his heartbeat matching her own frantic one, his breath was sucked out of him the minute she asked him that question, and he could feel moisture on his face.

"And you were right, I am just being an ungrateful brat. That night I shouldn't have been mad at you, for once again you were right, he should be the one who tells me and not you, because and to answer your question of that night, I would be pissed if you told him my story." She continued to sob, and he continued to stand there.

It took some time for his body to move under his command, but once it did he was beside the blonde in a second holding her in a tight embrace while she poured her heart out.

"I just feel so scared that I'm going to lose someone else again! And I've been such a bitch to you and my god I feel like I already failed my kids with how I've been acting lately. My god Cobra could you ever forgive me?" she clutched to his shirt as she shivered from the feelings rushing through her, his shirt was now soaked with tears but he didn't care, he kept his firm hold on her.

"You are an idiot Sunshine…" he whispered softly.

She looked at him through her misty brown orbs and let out a quiet 'huh?'.

"If you think you could lose me this easily then you are heavily mistaken Sunshine! You decided to stick around remember, so I decided to literally stick by your side. And as for that night, can we just forget about it?"

She looked at his soft smile and warm eyes, understanding from them that he meant every word he said and all she could do was smile brightly and nod her head as she crushed him once again in her hug.

"And if you are worried about the kids, you still have time you know? I haven't told them anything." He said as he returned the hug.

"Thank you so much Eric-nii!"

"You are welcome Sunshine! By the way about tomorrow…?"

She let go of the hug and stepped back, "Yeah I know, the lawyer is coming tomorrow to discuss my father's will."

"Alright, come on it's time to sleep." He dragged her by her hand to her room and turned to his room.

"Goodnight Coco."

"Goodnight Sunshine."

He went to his room and she went to hers. Sighing, she climbed her bed and snuggled under the covers. She thought about what Cobra said about her kids, and he was right there was a lot of time left to make it better, because she knew that her kids were sad about how she has been reacting and they must have felt that it was somehow their fault, just like she did when her father would lash out on her or not talk to her. She shot up from bed, yes she had a lot of time but she couldn't wait, she needed to see her kids now, she didn't want them to feel that way at all.

She sneaked out of her room and went to theirs then she slowly opened the door's room and came in, the blonde looked at the three empty beds and immediately panicked. She turned on the lights and looked around, she couldn't find them anywhere in their room so she got out and went to Cobra's room for she was about to wake him up in search of the kids when she passed her father's room, she had a feeling that they were there.

She got close to it and opened the door slowly, creeping closer to the king sized bed she noticed a lump of bodies tangled together. Silent tears started flowing from her eyes as she gazed at her kids sleeping in her father's bed while holding on to their dragon plushies that their grandpa bought them.

Trying her best not to make noise she climbed into the bed and laid next to her kids who immediately snuggled close to her when they recognized her warmth, she pulled them to her and sobbed quietly as she kept muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over again. Soon after she started to doze off then fell asleep with dry tear marks on her face, three pair of eyes opened up to gaze at their mother.

"Don't wowwy mommy, we will pwotec you!" Layla exclaimed calmly as both Red and Justin nodded their heads. Then they all relaxed in their mother's embrace and slept.

Morning soon came and Lucy woke up to an empty bed, she quickly got up and looked around her, just as she was about to open the door, it opened up revealing Justin carrying a napkin draped over his left arm, while wearing a little waiter uniform, he blushed and cleared his throat as he looked at his mother, he didn't agree to this but his sister said it's important, "Right this way, my wady!"

Lucy looked at her son who bowed down while stretching his arm towards the direction she was supposed to go, she tried to contain her giggles to not ruin his serious mood but she couldn't help but give him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek which made him blush ever more "Why thank you young gentleman, I'll be on my way then."

She let him go and he held her hand to escort her there. Arriving at the stairs, she saw Red in a suit similar to Justin but he had a cute pout on his face that immediately vanished when he saw his mother only to be replaced by a brightening smile, "My Kady! Right this way!" he exclaimed as he pointed towards the staircase and came up next to her to hold her other hand.

Lucy couldn't contain her giggles anymore, she wondered how her kids could be so cute!? And their pronunciations of the word Lady is making this way cuter. Before Red could escort her she swooped in and crushed both her boys in a tight hug, they didn't complain, they were over the moon to be hugged by their mother again, and more so to see her smiling. They noticed how for the last week she wasn't smiling anymore, or playing with them, and when they asked their uncle he told them that she was sad and to just give her time.

They descended down the stairs and led her to the dining room, where she found a table set up with plates and utensils, cups and napkins. They made their way to the top chair and Red moved it aside while Justin helped his mother settle in, then they both pushed the chair to the table with the help of their mother who got up from her chair to make it easier for them.

"Yosh! My tun!" exclaimed a little blonde girl wearing a tiny waitress costume with her blonde locks tied up in a high ponytail with a pink ribbon.

She got closer to her mother and Lucy squealed at her daughter's adorable look, Layla gave her a makeshift menu. The menu was a white paper folded in half, on the front it said _The restaurant that makes mommy happy_ with hearts circling it. Lucy opened the menu to see that there was only one dish and it was pancakes, she looked at the price section to see that it costs four hugs. Lucy appeared to be thinking on what she wants to order as she looked at her daughter, "What do you think I should order young miss?"

Her daughter smiled up at her "Our pancakes are the best, Jiji used to aways make them!"

Lucy smiled sadly at her little girl before sighing and plastering a bright smile on her face "Well then, I would love some pancakes."

"Okay!" the little girl cheered as she took the menu and left to the kitchen. Lucy looked to the side to see her sons standing upright side by side, when Justin saw her looking he turned his face into a serious expression as much as he could and announced "If you need anything my wady we are here!"

Red nodded his head furiously and Lucy could just about die from their cuteness. Moments later the door to the kitchen opened and both Layla and Cobra got out, Cobra holding plates of steaming pancakes while Layla was holding the chocolate syrup and a bowl of Strawberries.

"Here you go my lady, our special dish for our special Sunshine!" Cobra put down the plate of pancakes in front of Lucy and then picked up Layla to help her reach the table so she could put down the syrup and strawberries.

Lucy looked at her brother who was in a white apron with a chef hat on his head, and shook her head while smiling "Thank you so much Chef, it smells heavenly! But aren't you going to eat too?"

"No worries about us my lady, we already ate." Cobra said as he motioned for the plate before her "Please enjoy!" he bowed dramatically and the kids plus the blonde laughed at his weird antics.

"Okay then thank you!" Lucy ate her pancakes and when she was done she asked for the check.

"Of course my wady!" Layla chirped and soon enough the kids plus Cobra stood side by side and opened their arms wide.

Lucy went first to Red who she crushed with her hug and kissed him all over his face while he giggled and blushed from all the love he was receiving. Next was Justin who got the same treatment as his brother, then Layla who Lucy crushed in her hugs then carried her and twirled her around while the little girl shrieked in amusement. And lastly, she looked at Cobra who was awaiting her with open arms and his signature smirk on his face, "Best for last huh?"

The blonde laughed "Keep dreaming Coco!" she joked as she hugged him tightly and him reciprocating her actions "But honestly though, thank you so much! You guys are the best!" the kids circled her and joined in on the hug.

"You feeling better?" Cobra asked the blonde as he laid his chin on her head.

"You bet!"

"You better, because when Zeno finds out that I used his hat he is going to kill me!" the blonde laughed out loud as she let go of her brother.

"They you better start running." Cobra looked at her quizzically, "Why so?"

"Because he is right behind you." the blonde pointed to the angry looking chef who has steam going out of his ears.

Cobra looked back then quickly to the blonde "Welp it was a good life!" he then dashed out of the room leaving a trail of dust behind him, but the chef was soon hot on his tail.

"Get back here you idiot!" Zeno screamed after the slayer.

"Catch me if you can Chef!" Cobra cheered as he ran for his life.

Layla looked at her mother "Mommy is Zeno-san angwy because we made a mess?"

The blonde looked at her daughter "What do you mean sweetie?"

Layla led her to the kitchen only to see upon entering that it was ruined, dirty and a complete mess! The dishes were stacked in an unsteady pile on the sink, one wrong move and it would all come tumbling down, while the counters were painted with the flour Cobra had used to make the pancakes, and let's not forget the egg yolk present on the oven, how the hell did that happen Lucy did not know and didn't want to know.

"Yeah I think so sweetie."

Justin fidgeted in his place before he tugged his mother's shirt resulting in her looking at him, "Mommy, where is jiji?"

Lucy stiffened at the question her son asked her and more so at the look of pure sadness in his eyes, not only him the others as well. She crouched down to their level and hugged them "Your grandpa won't be coming back sweetie."

"But why? Did we do something bad?" Red asked with tears flowing down his face, the others in the same situation. Lucy felt like crying but she needed to start getting stronger for her kids, so she held back her tears and shook her head "No honey, to him you were the most amazing kids there ever was. But something happened, and now he won't be coming back, but he wanted to let you know that he loves you so much, and that he is very sorry that he couldn't spend more time with you, and that… that he wishes you the best in life!"

The kids continued to cry when Layla asked why he won't come back, Lucy looked at her kids and she wondered how could she tell them what happened, so she chose a simple approach and told them that right now he couldn't because he became an angel, and he had a duty to keep watch on them to make sure they are alright. The kids seemed to accept this explanation and hugged their mother once again.

Soon the time came for the lawyer to come, Lucy dressed in a simple black dress and waited for the man in her office. After a few moments there was a knock on the door, a soft 'enter' escaped the blonde and the door opened revealing the lawyer with Cobra next to him.

The blonde stood up and shook his hand, "Please have a seat Nobu-san."

The man took a seat in front of her and looked at her apologetically "I am truly sorry for your loss Miss Heartfilia, your father was a great man."

"Thank you so much Nobu-san." Lucy smiled softly at the man before her but she caught from the corner of her eye the sight of Cobra leaving the office.

"Cobra?" she called out to him.

He turned around and hummed, she simply gave him a sweet smile "Would you please stay?"

Cobra knew what those words meant, so of course he obliged with her request. To him it was obvious what she meant… Could you please stay with me so I don't do this alone? ... There was no doubt he would.

He took a seat next to the blonde and the man started telling her father's will, on how now everything was in her name, the Konzern, the company aka Heartfilia Railways, and a little special spot that she didn't know of, a beach house in Hargeon.

"There is a letter to the both of you and each of the kids he left behind, he told me to deliver these letters in the case of his death, he also requested that you would read them in private and to give the kids the letter once they were older."

Cobra had his eyes wide not at all expecting the old man to leave him a letter while Lucy nodded sadly at the news that she received.

"Also, one more thing… he left gifts to everyone, and he requested that I read the following letter in front of you both…"

They looked at each other and gave a curt nod before turning back to the lawyer. Nobu-san cleared his throat as he opened the letter and began reading…

"_Dear daughter, I am incredibly sorry for the fact that I may never tell you the truth about my illness, the thing is I just couldn't bring myself to, I've wanted to tell you many times but then you would smile and all I would think of is that smile vanishing to be replaced with worry and sadness, and I couldn't handle that… I am truly sorry. Cobra was right every time he told me that I should tell you…"_

Lucy looked at her brother with wide eyes but he couldn't return her gaze, he was looking everywhere but at his sister, and the blonde felt her heart tear apart at her stupidity, all this time she was mad at him when the fact that he couldn't tell her was eating him up too.

"… _Please don't be mad with him, I told him not to tell you. I know for a fact that I will never tell you, and I know it's wrong, I just can't. I just want you to know that I love you, I love your little devils, and thank you so much for forgiving me and allowing me back in your life._

_Now for the brother… I do not know when did I grow fond of you, maybe it was when I saw you taking care of my daughter and her kids, or maybe when we would sit and chat, but you did… I guess no one can really resist those charms of yours after all…"_

Cobra and Lucy both chuckled as the blonde wiped her cascading tears with a tissue and the slayer sniffled.

"_When I first called you son, it was when you first came to the mansion, the look of joy in your eyes when I said it made me feel warm, to tell you the truth I always wanted a son, so that my little girl can have someone to protect her. Layla and I both wanted a second kid and we both wished for a boy, but then accidents happened. I guess what I'm trying to point out is the fact that I see you as a son Cobra, which was why I left you a gift, I left everyone a gift. I wanted to give this to you myself, but in the event I died before I could, my lawyer would arrange it._

_Now the question is Cobra, would you like to officially be my son? Would you like to be a Heartfilia? Be Lucy's legal brother? Be the kids' legal uncle? You are already all of those things… but Erik Heartfilia does sound nice eh?_

_From your loving father, Jude Heartfilia… I wish you both well and hope you live life to the fullest… I will be with Layla, so you don't have to worry about me, all I can do is hope that she forgave me for all the things I've done, if not I do envision her waiting me with a glare on her face, and her foot tapping on the floor… guess I should be prepared for groveling… wish me luck my daughter and son."_

At the end of the letter, Lucy was crying while Erik had his eye wide with a tear sliding on his cheek, even the lawyer had some tears down his face. He then gave the letter to Lucy and pulled out the legal papers "Jude-san wished for you to choose, it is your decision if you wish to be a Heartfilia or not."

He handed the papers to Cobra who had Lucy leaning on him squeezing him in a hug. Jude's signature was already present and what's left was his, he looked at Sunshine who was smiling so brightly he was about to turn blind and picked up the pen and signed his name.

Erik Heartfilia… that was now his official name, and he couldn't be any happier. Oh how he adored his Sunshine for giving him a real family, a father, a sister and two nephews and a niece. Could life get any better? He didn't know it then, but it will, and once again, it will be because of his Sunshine.

XXX

It was softly raining outside, yet it didn't matter to him. He kept running because he knows what is going on. They were leaving him messages here and there and he was sick of it, true he kinda missed them but he was happy here, he was more than happy he was overjoyed. So he wanted to make that clear for them, he didn't care what they did, he just wanted to be happy with his family and wish them well in whatever they do. Because no matter what, he would still care for them, of course he would never tell them that, he wasn't that kind of person except with Sunshine and the kids, but… they were his family too no matter how messed up they were, they were in the tower together, endured torture together, became a guild together, fought together and then went to prison together.

So of course he cared about the other members of the former Oracion Seis.

He reached an inn and went in, the lobby was empty except for a table at the far back of the room. He took a sniff and immediately realized it was them, they were here.

He walked up to the hooded figures and sat down on a chair, he leaned back in his chair with his arms behind his head and cracked a grin "How you doin'?"

One of the figures removed their hood and shook his head at the slayer's antics "Always the idiot I remember you to be Cobra."

The slayer fake pouted at the figure "Oh come on, Midnight! Just admit that you missed me."

"Who would miss your ugly face snake?!" another figure snapped.

"Ah Angel, still the bitch of this group. How have you been?" he smiled sweetly at the former guild member and she slapped him on his arm.

"Don't push my buttons Cobra! By the way, where is the blonde bimbo? I don't see her around, did you finally get rid of he-"

"I would advise you to keep your mouth shut Angel." Racer noted as he looked at the woman beside him.

"HAH?! Why would I do that?" the woman barked back.

"Unless you want to be dead in the next second I would advise you to keep quiet." Midnight remarked as he pointed a finger towards where Cobra was sitting.

Angel followed his finger to be met with the slayer's unwavering glare that made shivers run down her spine, the alarms in her mind sounded signaling that she was in deep danger, and her fight or flight instincts were about to kick in but she calmed down and kept her mouth shut.

"By how you reacted to what Angel said about your blonde… _friend_, I take it you won't be coming with us." Midnight remarked.

The slayer took a deep breath to calm down then nodded, "Yeah I won't."

"May I ask why not?" questioned Midnight.

The slayer gave them a soft smile that had them shook "I will say this only once and if you told anyone I will deny it." He took a deep breath, "I- I found a family… the kind we used to dream of, the kind we would have fantasies about and the kind we would deem as a fairy tale, meaning not real. But I… I found it, and I am more than happy to stay with them, even if it meant I am under house arrest, even if it meant I can't use my magic till I'm done with my time, I am not leaving them."

They all looked at him with wide eyes and mouth gaping, they couldn't believe that the poison dragon slayer, Cobra, was being soft and expressing himself!

"Now I'm going to tell you something else that may seem shocking to you."

…

"Are you sure about this Lucy-san?" the man fidgeted in his seat outside the house, the setting sun softly caressing his face as he shifted his eyes to the blonde next to him, the rain had stopped and left behind it a soft breeze.

"You are talking as if you don't know him Lahar-san. He will be back, Cobra will be back! I know it." She told him with a smile.

He blushed a bit before heaving a sigh and shaking his head "Alright, I will trust him, but it was weird, that request of his."

The blonde nodded "I know it must be something serious to request this of you, but he said it would solve your problem so it is necessary don't you think?"

The man nodded, yes the request Cobra made was weird, he wished to have the monitor around his ankle disabled for two hours and if he wasn't back by then Lahar would take him back to jail, although this freaked out the blonde she trusted that her brother would come back home within the requested time.

The blonde looked at the man next to her, she knew what Cobra was going to do, and she remembered about how she treated him a month and a half ago with the whole situation with her father, so she was determined to pay him back for everything he has done for her.

"Ne, Lahar-san, can I ask a favor of you?"

…

An hour passed by, the sun was beginning to set and both the blonde and the rune captain next to her.

A silhouette started to appear on the horizon followed by multiple others. Cobra was back but not alone, behind him were the former Oracion Seis members, Lahar had his eyes wide and mouth opening and closing multiple times just like a fish while Lucy had a victorious smirk on her face.

She turned to Lahar and gave him a wink "I told you Lahar-san, Cobra will be back."

He gazed at her from the corner of his eye "Are you sure about your decision Lucy-san? You can think this through you know, you don't have to."

"I'm positive Lahar-san." And she left it at that, no words were spoken between them as the runaways approached.

"Yo Four-eyes, I brought them back." Cobra mockingly saluted the captain as the latter shook his head.

Just then a carriage was seen from the distance with the rune knight's emblem on it, behind it another carriage though it was different, it was made of steel with a window like bar. The runaways knew that it was here to take them away, they turned to Cobra and gave him a somewhat of a smile.

"I am glad that you found a family Cobra." Hoteye commented while Cobra shot him a glare.

"I don't know what you are talking about." The slayer retorted with so much force, but Hoteye just smiled at his childlike antics.

Behind them, Lucy was watching the interaction and she knew that her brother was happy, she could feel it through their bond, that was what made her sure that she made the right decision.

The carriages stopped and rune knights filed out, all bore happy smiles to Lucy and Cobra was confused by it. The blonde reciprocated the smiles and waved as they passed by her going to their captain.

Lahar turned once again to Lucy "You are truly one of a kind, stubborn, rightful and… someone who doesn't deserve what happened to them."

The blonde shrugged her shoulders "It's life, it happens."

Cobra looked even more confused now and he wasn't the only one, more so with the fact that the rune knights were not capturing his former guild mates, and he snapped "Okay what the fuck is going on here? What the hell is happening? Why are you guys talking like we aren't even here? I mean like HELLO!" he waves his arms around him "Look who is here!"

Lahar and Lucy looked at him and sighed, he will never change and that's a fact.

"Get the ankle monitors everyone and let the prisoner out of the carriage." Lahar commanded his knights and they all started to work.

Cobra looked surprised at the knights that whizzed past him, but then his eyes landed at his Sunshine, he saw that warm smile she directed towards him and he knew something was up.

"Sunshine…?" he questioned softly.

"Surprise Eric-nii!" she gave him a closed eye smile and tilted her head.

"W-WHAT?!" he exclaimed loudly as he still didn't understand what was happening, but then he heard the knight behind him telling Midnight to sit on a chair so that he would put the monitor on him.

His eyes widened and so did Midnight's and everyone else who didn't know what was going on.

"Sunshine, what did you do?" he asked once again, this time his voice seemed a bit chocked.

"A deal, don't worry about it." She turned to the rest of them who are hiding behind the slayer "Hello everyone, my name is Lucy, and this is where you will be staying from now on."

Their mouths were gaping as their eyes unblinking, but they quickly recovered when the prisoner from the carriage came forth… blue hair, red markings on his face and a set monitor on his ankle, they locked eyes with him and he did the same.

Then they turned towards Lahar who spoke to them "Lucy-san decided to take you under her care, so please-"

"Lahar-san, if you may, please can I be the one to tell them?" Lucy interrupted the man who sighed and nodded his head.

"Very well, we shall take our leave then." Lahar signaled his men, they got into the carriage and left the Konzern.

"Please…" Lucy stepped aside and gestured her arm towards the mansion's door "Let us continue inside."

They entered and sat in the dining room, the ones who have never seen this house before were astonished by its elegance and beauty.

They all looked at Lucy expectantly waiting for her to explain, the blonde cleared her throat "Okay, I know it may come as a shock and you might think that I have some ulterior motives behind my actions but do believe me I do not, I simply wish to help."

"As if, you are probably going to treat us as your slaves while we are here, and we can't do anything because we don't have our magic." Scoffed Angel as she glared at the blonde.

The blonde held her gaze not wavering, then she did something that Angel never thought she would do, she smiled at her softly and apologized "I am truly sorry if you think like that Angel-san, but that is not my intentions, I promise you that, and you know how much promises mean to people like us right?"

Angel widened her eyes but then turned her face and humphed, even though Lucy promised her, the silverette did not believe her, because why would someone help the woman that was going to kill them?!

Lucy let out a small giggle then turned towards the rest "You will all be able to do whatever you wish, there are a few restrictions though-"

"I knew it!" the silverette mumbled under her breath.

The blonde continued "You are able to go outside but you don't have space as much as Cobra does, you can only go around the mansion and the garden, I'm sorry for that I tried my best but it was this or nothing. Also, I have three kids-"

At this they all widened their eyes except for Cobra, sure they knew she was pregnant but not with triplets. The blonde looked at their facial expression and let out an airy laugh "I'm sorry, it's just that it's too funny."

Midnight looked at Cobra who shrugged and muttered 'Crazy.'

"Coco!" the slayer flinched at the nickname and he knew she did it on purpose, Midnight raised an amused eyebrow at the slayer the latter raised his hand and stopped him before talking "Don't even think about it." The slayer growled while the other smirked.

"I am sorry Lucy-san, but I have a question, actually I have multiple."

"Please ask away Hoteye-san." The blonde smiled encouragingly and he gulped, he was not used to this much affection.

"Why are you doing this? And why is Jellal here as well?"

They turned their gazes towards the blue haired man who has kept his quiet all this time. The blonde sighed and slumped in her chair "I know you expect answers, and I shall grant them to you as best as I can… I sincerely want to help, I know you may not believe me but I do, I heard about what they do in prison and frankly I didn't like it, but of course your next question would be if that is the case then why don't you have all of the prisoners here? The answer, simple. Because you guys mean something to my brother, and a lot of times I feel a longing in our bond that at the time I didn't understand, but when I felt how happy he was when he told me what he was going to do, I knew it."

Cobra looked away to hide the forming blush on his face, he was so fucking thankful he was tanned. But nothing escapes his Sunshine, not his blush and certainly not his feelings, she just shot him a wink and he hissed at her, he didn't like how she exposed him in front of everyone.

"That justifies what we are doing here, although I never knew you felt that way Cobra." Midnight smartly remarked but then he pointed his finger towards the bluenette "But why is he here?"

The blonde sighed once again "He is here because… he deserves somewhere better than that vile place, you all do."

The bluenette shot his gaze towards the blonde who was giggling softly at her brother's flustered face, a light adorning her face and smile, he thought 'Sunshine, a name well suited for her.'

"Is everything clear now?" they all nodded "Oh one more thing, as I mentioned before you are free to whatever you like in this mansion, but! my kids are a line you do not cross, what I mean is be nice to them, they haven't gotten out of the mansion at all and they do not believe there is a thing such as bad guys, they may ask you sometimes to play with them, they may pester you with questions and if you could not tolerate that please talk to me or Cobra and we will tell them not to bother you anymore. Are we clear?" she talked about her kids with such strength that they found themselves all nodding in fear of retribution to what would happen if they object.

"Okay!" she was back to her joyful self "You guys will meet them later. Now let me show you to your rooms, I will send some people to buy you clothes tomorrow, and if you want anything to eat the chef's name is Zeno, also we all have meals together in this room, if you do not wish to or are uncomfortable please tell me and I will arrange something. Now please follow me."

They all started following her, all of them were having mixed emotions, because never in their life were they treated with this much niceness and hospitality.

She showed them all to their respective rooms, each one had a room of their own and now she was showing the last one to his room, the bluenette. He entered the room and looked around, one word could describe it, it was… lavish. He turned to the blonde who was speaking to him "Jellal-san, this is your room, please if there is everything you might need, my room is at the end of the hall. Also there are already towels in the bathroom and shampoos as well as everything you might need." She was closing the door when he stopped her.

"Lucy-san wait!" she looked at him waiting for him to continue, "Why?" he asked her not continuing his question.

"I already told you haven't I? You deserve much better." She smiled brightly at him then closed his door leaving the poor man shocked by her answer, because he did not understand it. How could someone like him… deserve better?

Lucy walked into her bedroom to find the poison dragon slayer seated on her queen sized bed waiting for her.

"I wondered where you disappeared to when I was showing them to their rooms." The blonde noted while she took off her shoes, when she was done she crept towards her bed and sat next to her brother.

"What's wrong with you? You are quieter than usual." Lucy was concerned for her brother, he wasn't even looking at her, he was staring at the ceiling.

"Sunshine, what did you do?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't understand what you mean." The blonde looked at him quizzically and he turned his gaze from the ceiling to her.

"What did you do to make him accept that weird ass proposition of yours?" he huffed out.

Lucy giggled at him "I will only tell you if you tell me how you convinced them to come back."

Cobra groaned and after a while relented with her request, "So how did you?"

He thought back to what happened today…

"_Now I'm going to tell you something else that may seem shocking to you."_

_They all looked at him expectantly to go on and say what he has to say._

"_If I was the Cobra you knew I would probably have already left them, but I didn't because I changed, she changed me and gave me something in life I never thought I would ever have, and do you know how nice it is to enjoy life and not worry about someone going after you? I left that part of me, the part that enjoyed the suffering of the innocents, and you have no idea how free I feel right now. So what I'm trying to say is you lot can feel the same way, just do your time and then enjoy your life, I am sure you will find someone that will stick by you like I did."_

_After that, he got up and was about to leave when Midnight stopped him._

He looked at the blonde and smirked "I just beat them up a bit."

"Cocoooooooooo!" Lucy whined as she smacked her brother on the hand "Be real what did you do?"

He chuckled "I really did beat them up, but not in the way you are thinking, and by the end of it they realized it's in their best interest to return and do their time. Now it's your turn, what did you do?"

She heaved a sigh and then smirked "Well I gave him a good beating-"

The blonde gasped as she tried to get away from her brother's ferocious attack, the monster was… tickling her.

"Stopppppp! I will tell you so stop it!" she gasped for air when he stopped his onslaught on her, she slumped back in her bed and looked up at the ceiling…

"_Ne, Lahar-san, can I ask a favor of you?"_

_The man looked at the blonde and hummed, she turned her gaze towards the mansion then looked back at the man "Can you please also put them under house arrest, plus someone else?"_

_The man looked at her as if she grew a second head "I'm sorry Lucy-san that is not possible, with your brother it was a… I honestly don't know how I pulled it off."_

_The blonde sulked for a minute before she brightened up, an idea just popped into her mind "Lahar-san, I know these people can change, because Coco did, they just had a rough past, and I know for a fact that prison will not help them, especially with the torture they are receiving from the guards."_

_At this the man's eyes widened "Torture?! What are you talking about?"_

_The blonde looked confused at Lahar "You did not know that your guards are torturing the prisoners? Cobra told me about it."_

"_Well maybe he was lying!" he was quick to defend the honor of the guards but a look from Lucy silenced him._

"_I know he was not lying, the bond between us made me believe his words. I am afraid you do not know how the bond works, but I will tell you this, why would someone lie about something like this?! I myself see that as something that might happen, the guards may feel that the prisoners are not strong anymore in the confinement and they would unleash on them their way of justice. I wish to ask you something Lahar-san, if you see prison as a rehab for these people to change, then do you think with this treatment they will? When your guards practically don't even see them as humans, I don't think that is possible. But you might not believe anything I am saying and you may call me naïve with how I think, so how about a deal?"_

_The man was still shook by what he was hearing, for one of the first things they learn is that criminals are to be treated as people too, and to help them so that they may see the fault in their ways and change, but this baffled him to another extent, and he didn't understand what the blonde meant with the word 'deal'._

"_A deal?"_

"_Yes, a deal. You and your knights will be able to move around and transport your equipment for free, there will be a train specialized for your troops, and I will arrange that. Also, do you remember when you told us how they escaped and how there has been a lot of problems in the military, well it was obvious to me that someone is causing these problems."_

_Lahar widened his eyes once again, he came to the realization of something, Lucy was dangerous. He hadn't said anything, he slipped something up but he quickly recovered and covered it with something else, but she was quick enough to catch on to it._

"_Agree to the deal and I will help you in any way I can."_

_The man locked his gaze with the blonde's determined one and he exhaled a breath "Let me talk to my superiors."_

"And that's what happened really."

The slayer had a bewildered look on his face before he broke out in laughter "You played Four-eyes like a piano."

"HEY! That's mean… and I didn't! It was him who slipped up when he talked to us yesterday about the situation." Lucy pouted as her brother continued laughing, after a while he quieted down and pulled her in a tight embrace.

"Thank you Sunshine, you really have brightened up my world with your light." He spoke softly and in a way that made the blonde blush uncontrollably from embarrassment, she smacked him on his shoulder "Stop it!"

The slayer merely chuckled as they broke apart from the hug and he went to her door "Goodnight Sunshine."

"Goodnight Coco."

He was about to close the door when he noticed the unopened letter on her nightstand "Still haven't opened it up?"

The blonde looked at him sadly "No, wasn't able to. Did you?"

He nodded "Yeah, the old man was mocking me even in his final words, but he… it was nice." He smiled softly before he closed the door.

…

It's been four months and all of them started to feel better with the new arrangements, at first it was really tense and uncomfortable, especially at the dinner and lunch time, but it broke apart when Layla and Red had a fight over who gets to sit next to Jellal, who was really surprised by the event, eventually Layla won because she used her puppy dog eyes on her brother and he relented.

After that Red went to sit next to Cobra while saying that he doesn't believe he lost to his sister and got to sit next to his uncle, of course Cobra felt the insult run through him as he shouted "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?"

The poor boy started to apologize to his uncle who sat sulking like a kid and ignoring Red's attempts of apologies.

The blonde started giggling at their interactions and was soon followed by a full blown laughter when Red told his uncle that he will let him eat his chocolate if he stopped staying mad at him to which Cobra immediately accepted.

The other members were looking at the carefree banter between the two with awed expressions, they could not believe how childish Cobra was being, but it was obvious he was doing this for entertainment.

Well, all the members except for one. A silverette woman who was seething with rage at what was happening and who had it in her mind to make the blonde's life hell, and what better way… than her kids.

Currently she was sitting in the living room her eyes trailing the little blonde girl playing with her plushy, the others were out in the garden so this was her shot, she called out to her "Layla dear, come here for a second."

The blonde little girl looked up at the silverette and nodded her head enthusiastically, she was looking for someone to play with, so she went and sat next to Angel.

"Dear, do you wish to know a secret?"

The little blonde girl nodded, "Your mother… she doesn't love you, I heard her talking to someone that she was looking for someone to come and take you away, because she simply cannot look at your face anymore."

"You're lying!" the little blonde girl whimpered.

"Oh I wish I was dear, I really do."

"No you are lying! Mama would never leave me!" Layla started to shout while crying.

"Keep your voice down little girl." Angel gripped Layla's wrist tightly.

"You are hurting me." Layla whimpered as she tried to get away.

"What is going on here?" Angel turned to look at Jellal with a bewildered expression, he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Yes I would like to know the same thing." Came the voice of a calm Lucy.

Oh but Angel knew, that calm was the calm before the storm.

"Mommy!" Layla cried out as she was set free from Angel's grip and ran to her mother's side.

"Mommy she was saying that you will leave me!" Layla cried and soon enough everyone emerged in the living room wondering what was happening.

One look at the blonde and they knew something bad happened, and when their eyes landed on Angel they knew that she did something. Lucy bent down and hugged her daughter's sobbing form, she got up and turned to her brother "Please take her upstairs to her room and stay with her, I will be right there."

Cobra nodded and quickly took Layla and dashed upstairs. Lucy turned towards the silverette and her gaze hardened, no more mercy for this bitch. Lucy noticed how Angel was always grumpy and how she always seemed to be disgusted with the kids, but she knew that Angel's hatred was directed towards her, not to her kids.

Angel seemed to shrink back a bit as she gulped and sweat seemed to trickle down her forehead.

"You hate me yet you go after my kids, how much more pathetic can you be?" the words laced with venom were spit out of Lucy's mouth in a way that showed complete and utter hatred towards the person directed to.

Everyone was frozen at the sudden change in demeanor in the blonde, they never once saw her this mad. But Angel, being the stupid woman she is, decided to feign innocence.

"Hmm, I don't know what you mean?" she tilted her head and put her forefinger on her mouth, she was doing this to show bravery but inside she was shaking. That was not the idea she showed, they all thought she was stupid.

"Oh you don't know? Then let me refresh your memory. When did you hear me talk to someone telling him that I wish he comes and takes my daughter away?"

At this Angel widened her eyes, "Oh, it seems you remember now." Lucy let out a dry chuckle "Do you remember what I told you the first day you were here? My kids are a line you do not fucking cross you bitch."

The others stood with a shocked face, never knowing that sweet naïve Lucy could speak like that, could spit venom like that, and they wondered if all mothers were like that.

"I-I…" Angel started stuttering, the hate she was seeing swimming in the blonde's eyes was a new thing, she never felt such hatred aimed towards her, usually people cower in fear in front of her, but in front of the blonde she found herself in the place of her formers victims.

"You hate me, so why not go after me? Don't worry I will not use magic, it's not like I'll need it anyways." She moved towards the door then looked back at Angel with dull eyes "Are you not coming?"

Angel could not move from her spot, she was frightened to her core, her heart was about to leap from her chest, she gulped and shook her head no.

"Oh okay, then heed this as my final warning, try something like that once again and your ass gets hauled back to wherever you came from." Lucy moves from the door to go up the stairs when she is stopped by a quaking voice.

"You don't know anything…"

The blonde looked back at the trembling silverette, "You don't know anything, you claim to want to help us when you know nothing about us, you just pity us but you don't know the shit we've been through, or the pain that we felt because you stayed all this while cooped up in a fucking mansion being treated like a fucking princess, even outside the mansion." Angel shouted in rage.

"I don't know pain? Ha… funny." Lucy's bangs were shadowing her face as she continued her ascent on the stairs going to check on her daughter.

The intense atmosphere in the room lightened a bit after the blonde's exit, they all turned to look at Angel who was trembling, and then one by one left her on her own, they all knew that what she did was the stupidest thing they have ever seen in their life, and especially to someone who is helping them, Angel should have known not to bite the hand that feeds her.

Lucy arrived at her kids' room and went in, she saw Layla huddled up in Cobra's embrace while he stroked her back, she noticed that her daughter is fast asleep with tear marks on her face. She heaved a sigh and walked to her bed, she sat on it and nudged Cobra to hand her over, once he did he looked at the blonde only to find her nodding, he understood what she meant, she will tell him later. He got up and left, he went downstairs to check up on everybody but found no one, he focused on his hearing and found out they were all asleep.

He trudged back up to Layla's room and opened the door only to find Lucy fast asleep with her daughter in her embrace, they both looked so peaceful. He closed the door and went to his room, he took of his clothes and glanced at the clock, 9:30 pm, it was still early but seeing as everyone is already asleep he thought he would join them.

XXX

**WARNING: insensitive talk about rape, read at your own discretion…**

It was too easy…

Infiltrating the mansion was too easy…

That was the only thought that ran inside the man's head as he watched the blonde sleeping from the window. He signaled his friends and chaos erupted.

One by one the now house prisoners and the blonde found themselves outside the mansion, with Lucy in the middle and the rest on the side.

A man stood in front of the blonde "Wakey wakey eggs and bakey."

The blonde slowly opened her eyes, then widened them as she saw she was outside the house, she looked around her and her gaze slid to her new housemates and brother on the ground.

"Wh-what?" she whispered.

"Oh don't worry about them, they are fine." He looked at one of his henchmen "Wake them up."

The man stood in front of them and held up his hand, a magical surge shot through their bodies as they screamed in pain. They all started panting once the pain subsided and Cobra was able to hear his sister screaming at someone "What the hell did you do to them you fucker?"

The man in question just laughed like a maniac "Oh, and what are you going to do, you don't have your keys Blondie!"

Lucy's whole body shook at the nickname he had given her, but he was right, she couldn't do anything, she didn't have her keys and the others didn't have their magic.

She looked up at the man, he had crazy green hair and wild golden feral eyes, his mouth was split in a maniacal smirk as he gazed at her, he was slim and was wearing a green jumpsuit, with green sports shoes.

He looked at her and began chuckling, he bent back then came up in her face "Oh Blondie~ don't give me that expression, it makes me way more excited, and if I don't do what the master wants then he will punish me, and I don't want that." He pouted at the end.

The blonde shivered, she glanced at her brother who was looking terrified in her direction, her gaze swept to the men surrounding her new family and she felt sick to her stomach, they were vulnerable in their state at the moment so anything could hurt them tenfold, she turned back to the green haired man "And what does your master want?"

He smiled wickedly at her "To see you in pain of course…" he tapped her forehead with his forefinger and jumped back "And also, your kids."

Lucy couldn't hear what he said next for she felt her mind splitting in half, images started flashing through her mind, of Gajeel, of her mother, of her father, the Raijinshuu and lastly… Laxus.

"Oh~ poor girl lost her mommy when she was young." The green haired man chirped.

Cobra looked at him wide eyed, 'What the hell is going on?', he turned to his sister, "Sunshine what's wrong talk to me?"

At that instant, Lucy's ear splitting scream rang in the still cold night air "STOP IT!"

"Oh yes, do you remember it? The way your dear brother was torturing you? the way his iron club would crack your stomach every time he hit you?" the man howled in laughter as he watched the girl cry as she tried to shield her stomach but still felt the immense pain that was shot through her.

Cobra knew what was happening, somehow this man was making her relive her past, and he never hated how useless he felt right now "Sunshine listen to me he is not here, you are not being tortured! WAKE UP!"

He started struggling but a shot of pain knocked him out of breath, he looked up to see the man who had woken them up from sleep staring at him with his arm raised, he could see his red eyes glaring at him under the hood, everyone was wearing a hood except for the green haired man, and to make matters worse he and the rest couldn't move because they put restraints on them that were invisible, he could feel something weighing him down but he couldn't see it nor smell it.

"What- what is going on?" Angel whispered as she looked around them.

"STOP IT PLEASE STOP!" the blonde screamed as tears flooded down her face.

The green haired man looked at Cobra and excitement flooded through him at the look the slayer was directing at him, it was a look that promised pain and he loved it, that's why he decided to increase the intensity of the look. He gazed at the blonde on the ground screaming and crying, he raised his arm and snapped his finger, the blonde stopped screaming.

Cobra and the others thought it was finally over before a chilling scream pierced the air yet once again, but this time Cobra's heart cracked at what it was.

"STOP TOUCHING ME! GET AWAY! PLEASE STOP!"

The blonde started to cry profusely while scratching herself to the point of drawing blood.

"Oh~ interesting… looks like our little Blondie here got defiled. Hmm, such a pity for someone like you to go through something like that… NOT! Oh your screams for him to stop are making my blood boil with anticipation."

Cobra looked at the man repulsed to his very core by his actions, how could someone like that kind of stuff?!

"Oh my god, is these something that you haven't been through. Kidnapped and tortured, raped, lost your mother and brother and close friends and then recently, your pathetic father! HA! You are such a broken doll Blondie!"

Cobra let out a feral growl at the man and he was about to move but then realized he still had on his invisible restraints. The blonde clutched her head as she continued screaming, she could feel and sense everything like what happened that day, and it was breaking her. She couldn't hear anything at all, she tried to focus on something but her mind kept replaying everything that happened in the past, but then a voice rang in her mind, a loud "MAMMA!" that echoed from behind her.

There Justin stood as he clutched his sister to his right and Red to his left, behind them was a hooded man that was leading them outside the mansion with a sword to their back.

"Oh look, they are here. Come on our work here is done, let's go." He glanced at the former Oracion Seis and sneered "Pathetic!" he spat at them as he continued his walk "Come on let's deliver these kids to the master so he could have fun with them, and you know why not take these losers, they could keep us entertained."

He looked over his shoulder and gestured for his henchmen to hold the Oracion Seis members, he then gazed at the blonde "Oh by the way Blondie, your father's accident wasn't much of an accident. Oops!" he then turned back and started walking away leaving behind him a whimpering blonde and taking with him a screaming brother and kids plus the others.

The moment Lucy heard her boy's scream, the moment she saw their fearful expression through lidded eyes as they passed her, the moment he mentioned taking her family from her and the moment he announced that her father's death was planned, at that moment…. She snapped.

Magic pressure started building up around the area, the green haired man and the others whipped their heads towards the blonde only to see her glowing.

She lay on her knees, a soft light adorning her features and emitting from her body, she felt magic surging through her like never before, it somewhat answered to her call for help, something had clung to her and she started to feel as if she was sinking.

From the views of others, the light dimmed and now an incredible dark magic pressure increased, a magic circle appeared under the blonde, it was black but had red linings in it. Soon shadows started engulfing the blonde's body, it lashed out while circling her, shadowed hands helped her stand up and from them was heard "Use my power Princess, and save your family."

"Hey what the hell you playing at-" the green haired man didn't have time to talk as a golden light engulfed the area and they all shielded their eyes, the light dimmed after a while, when he looked to where she was standing he didn't see her there.

"What the Ack!" he was down on the ground.

They all started to look around them but they didn't notice anything. The setting of the day could not be any more perfect for Lucy, it was around midnight so no one saw the shadow moving on the ground.

One by one they were all on the ground unconscious, the green haired man tried to move a bit but he felt sluggish, he figured she hit in the attempt to knock him out but he protected his neck at the right time.

"Oh, you are still awake?" came a monotone voice from behind him.

He looked to his side only to see the slacked jaw expressions on all the others who he held prisoners, he slowly looked back only to widen his eyes.

There was the blonde, but not the blonde he tortured, and definitely not the blonde who was screaming and crying. No… she was different, her magic felt different.

She was wearing a black leather corset lace up, with matching black leather pants tucked in black high heel boots. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail with a few strands left adorning her face and her bangs down, her pulled up hair was showcasing her black feathered wings tattoo on her upper back, in the middle of the wings lay a mark, Corvus's mark. Black void orbs gazed at him as her scarlet lips stretched to a snarl.

"Tell your master… the next time he wishes to mess with me… he should come not send his goons instead."

The green haired man could only tremble and whimper as he nodded his head.

"Also… my kids and family…" she pointed to where everyone she cared about was huddled up next to each other "are a line you do not fucking cross you motherfucker."

She reached out her arm towards him and immediately shadows shot from her arm and trapped the green haired man in their endless torture. One of the ones Lucy knocked out woke up and with a chant teleported his partners away from the mansion.

Lucy looked at the area where the man was being punished, now empty. She looked back at her brother and kids, then at her newest members to her family before the form faded and she fell unconscious.

"Sunshine." Cobra dove in and caught her just in time, the kids came running screaming for their mother, and the house mates all encircled the slayer.

"What the hell happened?" asked Jellal.

"Who are they?" questioned Midnight.

"It doesn't fucking matter now, we need to get Sunshine to the mansion and call the rune knights so they could send some doctors over here." He looked down at his pale sister and watched how her breathing became ragged.

"And quickly! I don't think we have much time left."

They dashed into the mansion and Cobra lay Lucy on the couch, he got up and went upstairs to her office where he made a call on the communication lacrima to Lahar. When the man answered he quickly told him what happened and the man told him he was already on his way for the others trespassed the line they weren't supposed to cross, he then reassured the slayer that help was on its way. Cobra went downstairs and saw the kids huddled up against their mother.

"What's going on?" he asked as he quickly came and sat next to the blonde.

"She is getting colder by the minute, Cobra we need to do something." Racer urged the slayer as the latter sat the blonde on his lap giving her from his body heat as much as he could.

Jellal ran upstairs to his room where he took the sheets from his bed and ran back downstairs, enveloping Lucy with the blankets.

"Is- is it true what he said?" inquired Angel softly.

Cobra was feeling on the verge of breaking so he snapped at the silverette "Yes it's fucking true! Everything is… oh god please be alright Sunshine." He shook the blonde slightly noticing the scratches on her arm that were still leaking blood, Racer got to the chimney and started making a fire while Midnight ran to get some more blankets and Hoteye went to get a first aid kit.

It was no secret, it took only a while for the blonde to grow on them, and now she practically saved them from whatever hell the others were planning to do with them. Yes, they were all worried about her, there was no denying it, but one. One who was so ashamed of her actions, of her words that she stood alone in the corner, the shadows of the room keeping her hidden from view. Never in her life Angel thought that she would feel this much shame, her eyes drifted to the blonde who was unconscious, and she shuddered as she remembered her screams, especially the ones where she screamed for someone to stop, to get away from her, to stop touching her. A lone tear escaped Angel's eyes as she shut her ears to prevent herself from hearing the screams, it brought her back to the tower and she wanted anything but back.

Hoteye came back with the medical kit and they started bandaging her up, Midnight came downstairs and gave the slayer all the blankets he could find, Jellal was taking care of the crying kids and Racer started the fire.

"There is something that is bothering me…" Hoteye started gaining the attention of others, "Where are the butlers and maids?"

"They live in a separate house." Replied Cobra.

"I know… but how could they not hear her screams!?" Hoteye exclaimed and this caused the others to widen their eyes.

"Could it be…" Midnight did not want to continue that thought, he looked at Racer and as if reading his mind Racer dashed out of the mansion, he ran down the road to where the butlers' house lay. He arrived at the door and knocked, seconds later Spetto-san opened up "Racer-sama, is everything alright?"

He quickly explained what happened and she was horrified, she woke everyone up and they all made their way to the mansion. Upon reaching the door they heard a sort of vehicle behind them and when they looked it had the rune knight's symbol on it.

Lahar jumped out of the vehicle the minute it stopped only to see Racer there waiting for him with a worried expression, he led him inside while following behind him were the doctors.

He entered and saw the lifeless looking blonde and immediately sprang into action, the doctors took hold of the blonde and started treating her while Lahar took the rest to a secluded room to speak.

"What the hell happened?" asked Lahar solemnly.

And then they all pitched in and told him what happened, Lahar was beyond amazed by how well they were behaving and the huge difference in their personalities. They all talked, except for one, Angel. He noticed her sad expression and he wanted to inquire about what happened but he kept his mouth shut, he figured it had something to do with what happened.

"This is complicated." Lahar sighed "So let me get this straight, you all woke up outside not having any clue about how, you then feel like something is weighing you down and you are unable to move, then the green haired man starts torturing Lucy-san claiming how his master wants the blonde in pain and her kids. But then he announces that he wishes to take you to have fun with you and then he tells Lucy that her father's death was no mere accident and that was when Lucy-san turned psycho?"

They all nodded, this time even Angel.

"But there was something weird…"

"What was it Racer?" inquired Lahar.

"None of the butlers or maids heard any of the commotion." Racer said as he massaged his temples, feeling a headache about to pop.

"I'm sorry come again?" Lahar asked with a shocked expression on his face, soon followed by everyone else minus Racer.

"No one heard a damn thing!" Racer shouted not liking all this attention on him.

Lahar let out a frustrated sigh "So what we know is that they have a mage who can teleport, one who can restrain people, one who causes pain though unknown how and one who can make you live the worst things you've ever been in before, also one who can put up a sound barrier."

They all nodded their heads, "God this seems more complicated the more we go on."

They all agreed with what the rune captain said, some with nods and some with words. Soon silence fell upon them, all were trapped in their own minds thinking about what happened tonight. Until a voice cut through them waking them up from their stupor.

"Captain, Lucy-san has woken up." A rune knight announced as he entered the room. It was only seconds before he felt the wind knocked out of him as he saw a blur flash by him. They looked around to notice that Cobra was gone.

…

"Sunshine!" he burst into her room, his eyes fell upon the blonde figure glaring softly at him, she put her forefinger on her lips and hushed him. He averted his gaze towards the three sleeping angels next to the blonde and smiled softly, he closed the door behind him and crept closer to Lucy's bed, she looked as if she was about to fall asleep while sitting.

"You know you should sleep Sunshine." He whispered as he climbed up the bed, placing himself next to the blonde and opening his arms for her to snuggle in them.

She hummed as she snuggled in "I know, but I just can't."

He looked at her bandaged arms and tightened his hold on her "Don't worry, I am here, so just go to sleep."

She gave him a small smile and closed her eyes, he watched as her body relaxed in his hold, soon enough her breathing evened and she was fast asleep. He knew what happened to her, she used too much magic that's why she fainted, but the question still remains, what was that magic? He never felt anything like that.

The door creaked open slowly and the slayer looked up to be met with silver hair, Angel looked at him and blinked twice. She informed him that the knights have left then slid out of the room and closed the door behind her, she bit her lip hard for her plans were ruined, she was going to catch the blonde alone so she could apologize to her, but now she doesn't think anyone would be leaving her alone with what happened.

She went to her room and laid on her bed, she thought about what she told Layla about her mother and she couldn't believe how wrong she was. They weren't brought by a night full of romance and love, but the blonde still loved them with everything she has. Meanwhile she was planned and she didn't feel that much love from her parents, and when she got kidnapped she was sure they were relieved somehow. No one from her family liked her except for her little sister, and she doesn't even know if she was still alive.

She looked at the clock next to her bed and winced at the time, it was 4 am. It was too late to sleep, so she got up to take a shower, figuring some hot water would do her some good.

Meanwhile Lucy and her kids were sleeping snuggled up in the slayer's embrace. It was peaceful, until images started filtering the blonde's mind. She started thrashing in her sleep resulting in waking her kids and brother up, "Sunshine?" he called out to her quietly.

She shot out of bed drenched with sweat and heaving as she slid down the floor, "Sunshine!" Cobra crouched down next to her as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Lucy's vision was blurry and as she laid her eyes on the person next to her, she saw blonde hair and a scar over their right eye. She screamed as she pushed him away from her "Get the hell away from me."

She backed up into a wall where she lay panting with tears running through her eyes, "Sunshine?"

A voice flooded through her ears, a voice that appeared so broken and hurt. She shook her head and tried to get a better look on the person in front of her, she knew only one person to ever call her that. Bit by bit her vision cleared and she saw Cobra with sadness fleeting in his eye. She looked behind him and saw her kids crying, she evened her breaths then crept closer to her brother and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry Eric-nii, my mind just played a dirty trick on me."

The accident from before must have triggered the nightmares once again.

He slowly accepted her hug, "What do you mean?"

She sighed slightly as she gestured for her kids to join in on the hug "It made me see you as someone else."

And she left it at that, Cobra knew what she meant by it, but then he also figured something. He got out of the hug to look down at the blonde, he couldn't believe how he hadn't realized this sooner, how stupid could he be?!

"Eric-nii?"

"Sunshine you never dealt with it did you?"

The blonde widened her eyes at her brother's question, but then started thinking back and he was right, she never dealt with it. She never had time to, she was pregnant so she had to care for her kids, then her brother died, then she was left alone, then Cobra came in and it was becoming better with making up with her father, but then her father died and now this. It was all bottling up inside if the blonde and she wasn't doing anything about it. How long was it? Three years and a half, but still every time she thought about him, she felt uncomfortable. Every time someone called her Blondie she would feel an incredible amount of rage rushing through her body, and she stepped away from everything that seemed sexual. No dates, no flings no nothing, she wasn't ready at all.

She looked up at her brother and shook her head no, "I'm sorry Sunshine."

"Don't be, I should be thanking you, you opened my eyes about the situation. Do you think I should seek a therapist?"

"Are you seriously mocking our therapy sessions?" he gasped feigning hurt, he didn't like the intense atmosphere and decided to break it with a joke.

The blonde just giggled quietly, she felt movement on her lap and looked down to see her kids sleeping on her lap and her brother's lap. She started running her fingers through Red's blonde locks.

"But to answer your question, you should, for yourself." Cobra smiled softly at her.

"And for the kids too."

"Come on, let's go to bed." the slayer got up holding in his arms her first born, while she held onto both Red and Layla. They laid them on the bed and slept next to them.

XXX

Little footsteps were heard on the stairs as someone was running away from something.

The little blond boy looked behind him to see a blur of black after him, he squeaked and tried running faster, when suddenly he found himself in the air.

"Gotcha'!" exclaimed Midnight as he spun Red around.

The little boy started whining for him to let him go, Midnight got down the stairs with Red on his shoulder, he looked at Angel who had Justin in her embrace.

"You caught one too?" Midnight asked the silverette who was playing with the blonde locks of the boy who's melting in her embrace.

"Hmm, he was easy to find." The silverette giggled as the boy pouted.

"Was not!" he said as he hid himself in the silverette's embrace to hide his flushed face.

It's been three months since that incident, Lucy doubled the security to the Konzern, adding magic detecting sensors around the perimeters of the mansion that will send a notification to a bracelet she is wearing if an unidentified magic trespasses, some rune knights who specialize in runes helped her as well in putting up some runes to stop intruders from coming in but they didn't work much for they were no experts, so anyone who had a clue about runes would be able to disable them.

Angel apologized to Lucy and after spending some time with the blonde, she grew to think of her as a sister. She also apologized to Layla and started playing with the kids, actually that was what they were doing at the moment, they were all playing hide and seek. The former Oracion Seis members all grew to love and care for the kids, even more so for their mother, though they would never say that, but they enjoyed every minute they spent with her, and when she stated that she will start therapy they all cheered her on and helped her anyway they can, she still had some episodes where she would wake up in the middle of the night shouting and would sometimes have a blurry vision.

Finding out what happened to the blonde was a big shock to all of the ones who didn't know, because they never thought that something like that happened to the bubbly blonde.

On another note, after speaking with Corvus and Loke about what happened, they told her how Corvus let her have some of his powers to help her, and how she could do that with all the keys she has but it needs a lot of training, so that was something as well she added to the to-do list. Loke was furious when he heard of what happened, and he thanked Corvus for what he did many times, but he was as well disappointed with himself for not being able to protect his princess. He promised that he, Corvus and especially Capricorn who was so amazed with what he heard about the blonde, will help her in training.

Now back to the game…

Racer came barging in the room, "You guys need to see this."

They both got up and went after him, they got out on a balcony where everyone was gathered save for Lucy and Cobra.

Racer pointed towards a bush where a little blonde crown was showing, they also noticed Lucy and Cobra close to the spot.

"Layla, where are you?" Lucy shouted aloud as the little blonde giggled while hiding behind her bush, she didn't even notice the slayer creeping up from behind her. He was crouching now directly behind her and she was still giggling without even taking notice of him, that is until she heard a scream from behind her telling her to 'Look behind you!' she recognized the voice as her brother Justin and immediately turned around only to hit her head with a hard chest. Arms encircled her as she started squirming in his hold "What do you think you are doing Munchkin?"

She stopped fighting back and huffed out an "I give!"

He chuckled as he got out with Layla in his arms, Lucy came up next to him and kissed her girl's forehead, "You were being too loud little girl."

Layla pouted, they all agreed for another round. This time to guarantee no one would find her, Layla went to hide a bit further in the garden, she knew she wasn't gonna last long with her uncle's nose.

She quietly tried to climb up a tree by failed, "Need a hand little girl?"

She squeaked at the stranger's voice and quickly looked behind her, she came face to face with an old man who had tan skin and a black beard.

"Ano, who awe you?" the little blonde asked the stranger as the man in question crouched down for her level.

"You can consider me a friend, after all I know your mother." He gave her a toothy grin, one that a person who have lived long enough would consider as sketchy, but to an innocent little girl, she thought of his as friendly.

"What is your name little girl?" he asked her as he patted her head, she smiled brightly up at him.

"My name is Layla, what is yours?"

"Nice to meet you Layla, my name is…"

Meanwhile with the rest, Lucy's bracelet started beeping indicating that someone trespassed her land. She immediately started panicking and shouting for everybody's name.

"What's wrong Lu?" Hoteye was the first one to arrive.

"Someone trespassed." That was all she needed to say and Hoteye was calling for everybody as well, soon they all regrouped when Midnight noticed something.

"Where is Layla?"

They all looked around them noticing the absence of the girl, Lucy's heart started pounding loudly as she screamed at the top of her lungs her daughter's name and Cobra was already trying to sniff her out, and what irked him was the fact something was blocking him.

"MOMMY!" she heard a distant yell making them snap their heads in her direction and dashing towards it.

They came across the scene of Layla waving goodbye to someone before they disappeared, Lucy quickly engulfed her daughter in a hug and checked her up for any injuries whatsoever. The bracelet dinged notifying Lucy that no one was in her territory anymore.

"Layla who was that you were waving to?" the blonde breathed out as she tried to calm her heartbeat, but her daughter's answer did the opposite.

Lucy felt as if the whole world came crashing down on her, she started having problems with breathing and she clutched her shirt above her heart to try and calm it down, her vision started to blurry but a hand brought her back to reality.

She looked to the owner of the hand to see it was Angel, Lucy quickly turned to her daughter and gripped her wrists tightly "Listen to me Layla, no matter what don't you ever again speak to that man, from now on you will not wonder off on your own, and if you come across him again you scream at the top of your lungs. Do you understand Layla? You have to promise me Layla that you will never speak to that man again!" Lucy sternly scolded her daughter who only nodded with tears in her eyes at the tone her mother used on her.

"Okay mommy!" Layla whimpered as she tried to free herself from her mother's tight grip.

The blonde's eyes softened as she looked at her daughter's tears and she brought her in for a hug "I'm sorry sweetie, I was just scared because that man is dangerous alright? So promise me you won't talk to him again okay?"

This time the little girl was more relaxed and accepted her mother's hug, Lucy then carried her to the mansion and motioned for the rest to follow her to her office when they sat down the kids with the butlers.

Cobra closed the door behind him and leaned on it, the rest were already in the room waiting for the blonde who was sitting on her chair to speak. After a while when the blonde still hasn't spoken up, they looked and saw her dull eyes as she furrowed her brows, a frown evident on her lips.

Another blonde in the room couldn't handle the silence anymore, so Racer asked the blonde the question that has been on everyone's minds "Lucy, who the hell is Ivan Dreyar?"

**Heya people, how you doing?**

**This chapter was longer than the one before and I really enjoyed writing it.**

**I hope you enjoy as well while reading it. Alright that was all, see you next time peeps. Oh, also next chapter, a big surprise at the end! So wait for it… hehe**

**KAWAIINECKO, signing out.**


	11. Chapter 11

**BROKEN AND BRUISED**

**CHAPTER 11**

Lucy sat at her desk and started arranging the stacked papers, after the whole fiasco with Ivan a week ago, she took a break from work to deal with the problem at hand, which is adding more security to the mansion, she talked with rune knights and spent nights reading on runes so she could strengthen them. Yesterday she had a breakthrough and made the runes ten times stronger, but she didn't stop at that, she hired more than twenty guards to stay at all times on the property.

When it came to her family's safety, Lucy would go to hell and back. She continued studying about runes to make them even stronger resulting in neglecting her business but today she said enough was enough and started working again.

When they asked her about Ivan Dreyar, she didn't know what to tell them, so she told them everything from the beginning. About him being Laxus's father, about Laxus and what he did to her and what Ivan did to him, she didn't leave anything untold about that incident, and it shocked the hell out of them. They didn't know that in this incident there were two victims not one, and more importantly they didn't know that the man Layla talked to was someone so vile and evil, sure they did their share of bad things but now that they all changed, they were able to see the difference in everything around them, and especially in the good and bad.

But what truly worried them all is the fact that the kids don't believe in bad guys, even though they almost got kidnapped by some very bad people, they acted the other day as if nothing happened, Lucy tried many times to explain things to them but they just never understood it. This was something that made things a lot harder for all the members of the house, sure they were still kids but it's what made it way more dangerous.

She heaved a sigh as she started rubbing her temples, because of all the work and stress, the sleepless nights and rune learning, Lucy looked and felt as if she would drop any minute.

A knock sounded on the door before Lucy gave the permission to come in, a blue mop of hair appeared holding a mug of something seemingly hot from the steam coming out of it.

"Mother you look tired."

The blonde heaved another sigh before sinking back in her chair whining "Not you too?!"

Jellal laughed as he put the steaming mug of coffee in front of the blonde, he sat in the chair opposite from her and smirked "With how you are fussing about our safety the past week, it's natural to call you mother now."

"You are older than me, most of you are older than me and yet you all call me mother or mommy, hell my kids are starting to get confused." She sighed as she took a small sip of coffee, "Thank you by the way."

Jellal smiled at her and leaned back in his chair "How are you feeling? You look as if you are going to drop any minute so do answer truthfully and not with the usual 'I'm okay'."

Lucy looked at him then stuck her tongue out "Meanie!" he gave her a smirk and she a small smile "Honestly, I have no idea what to feel, what to think and what to do. I just feel like it's not enough, like no matter what I do, he will find a way to hurt them. And-…"

It was silent for a while, Lucy was staring at her cup of coffee and Jellal was pondering her words, he exhaled a breath before he asked her something that she knew was coming a mile away "Is therapy not working?"

She took a deep breath, already feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, she closed them and shook her head "I don't know anymore, I don't feel good with the therapist, even though she is very kind it's just, I am not comfortable with her."

Jellal widened his eyes, knowing Lucy it was safe to assume the worse when she is uncomfortable around someone. The blonde was intelligent and observative, she would notice the smallest details and judge accordingly, so for her to be uneasy with the therapist meant there was something wrong with her.

"What do you think?" the blue haired man asked the blonde who still had her eyes closed.

"Honestly?" she opened them and looked at the man before her, he nodded and she continued "I think there is something wrong with her. But…"

"But…" Jellal urged her to go on.

"It could be my paranoia speaking." The blonde ended her thought as she took another sip from her coffee.

Jellal watched the blonde's shoulders slump, he now noticed the bags under her eyes, her sickly pale face, he noticed the pale color in some places and some not then summarized that she was masking it with some powder and make-up. He shook his head and got up while muttering "Seriously…?"

The blonde looked at him quizzically, watching him as he rounded her desk and stood beside her, he took the mug from her hands and carried her in his arms. Lucy squeaked as she demanded to be put down, but it all fell on deaf ears. The door to her office opened and in came Cobra who stopped mid track at the scene before him, before he sent the pleading blonde a smirk and moved out of the way.

"She's being stubborn again isn't she?" he asked the blue haired man as they passed him.

"Yup!" was the simple response Jellal gave, there was no need for further explanation, the blonde was known for her stubbornness, and especially when it came to her health, stating over and over again that she was fine.

They walked down the hallway and came face to face with Angel, she looked at Lucy then at Jellal and shook her head "Honestly Mommy, take care of yourself and stop being stubborn."

"Oh shush you! And stop with the mommy thing!" Lucy whined as Angel chuckled.

Then came a voice from behind a door "Then stop babying us and it's a deal."

The blonde pouted at Midnight's words but stayed silent, "Guess that's not happening then, so deal with it Mother!" Midnight shouted from behind the door as Lucy continued to sulk.

They continued their track to the blonde's room, they opened the door and entered, Jellal laid Lucy gently on her bed while Angel went and brought her mug of coffee. Her kids came in and huddled close to her entrapping her in a hug while Cobra brought some blankets and draped them over the bundle of limbs.

"All this resistance for nothing really, huh?" Cobra questioned as he gazed at his sister's sleeping form, it appears she fell asleep almost immediately after Jellal put her on her bed.

"She just doesn't know a thing called limits, does she?" Angel questioned as she took the coffee mug to the kitchen.

"That's Lucy." Jellal gave a small smile as he closed the curtains, it was still two in the afternoon, so the sun was out and shining.

They all got out of the room and closed the door behind them, going down the stairs they saw Racer and Hoteye sitting in the living room. Without even looking up Sawyer asked the blue haired man "She finally sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. Now what's up with you?" he looked up at Jellal who had his eyes wide.

"Me? What are you talking about?" Jellal questioned them as he turned around and saw that all of them are sending him looks of different kind, worry, confusion, and curiosity.

"We all noticed that you have become kind of distant this past week, well save Lucy but she has enough on her own, so what's wrong?" Angel inquired as the man in question simply shook his head and muttered out a nothing, he turned and left for his room, leaving behind him curious stares following his every step.

"Something is definitely up with Blueberry." Cobra noted as the rest were still gazing at the retreating figure of the blue haired man.

"Yeah…" Angel said before she turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Arriving to his room, Jellal shut the door behind him and sat on his bed. He looked out the window and questioned himself "What's up indeed."

…

"Layla! Red! Justin! Where are you?" Lucy shouted in her garden as she walked. She gazed at the sky to see it's full of stars with the full moon shining its soft light on the garden, illuminating the different kinds of flowers and giving the statues a nice blue hue.

"MOMMY!" came a scream she knew all too well, she darted in the direction from where she heard the scream from only to come upon the scene of her daughter talking with a mysterious man, the little girl turned to greet her mother.

It all happened too fast…

A minute the little blonde was waving to her mother, the next her body lay lifeless on the grass with the mysterious man's sword slick with red liquid.

Lucy's eyes widened as she willed her legs to move but to no avail, she was frozen in place watching one by one as each and every one she cared for die in front of her. She sensed a presence behind her and thought it was her time to die, she closed her eyes that already had tears falling from them but opened them the minute she felt him touch her.

She widened her eyes as he whispered something in her ear that had tingles of fear running down her spine.

"_Blondie."_

Lucy jolted up awake in her bed, her body drenched in sweat and her face soaked with tears. She looked at her clock to see that it was one in the morning, she sighed and got up to take a shower, and after she was done she changed into clean clothes. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, maybe seeing the therapist would help her, if she could get over her uneasiness with her that is. She felt a tingling sensation going up her left arm, she quickly slapped it with her hand and started looking around fearing that someone was in the room with her, it was as if she could still feel his touches, even after all these years, what Lucy did was not move on, only postpone the issue until she would break, and she did.

While she was looking around she noticed that her bed was empty and wondered where her kids went, she remembered that they were sleeping with her on the bed. Panic settled in and her heart started beating rapidly before she willed it to calm down, shaking her head she went to their room and looked inside to see them all sleeping in their respective beds. She smiled and closed the door quietly as to not wake them up, she heaved a sigh and ran her fingers through her blonde locks, figuring out that the best thing to do right now would be to read on runes, she made her way towards her office when she noticed along the way a light coming from underneath a room.

Looking up at the door she realized it was Jellal' room, she knocked softly and waited for a reply. Few seconds later the door opened and there stood Jellal with wide eyes staring at the blonde before him.

He couldn't believe that after they finally succeeded in making her sleep, she stood there before him like they did nothing, "What are you doing up at this hour?" he whisper shouted at the blonde.

"I could ask you the same thing, but to answer your question I… I woke up." She averted her eyes from his gaze and he immediately understood what she meant, he opened his door for her and let her in.

As she was passing him, he asked "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah…" she breathed out, "They just won't stop, when I was seeing her it was better but I don't know how to feel at ease with her lately."

"Did this start after the incident with Ivan?" the bluenette inquired as he sat on his bed.

"I guess, but enough about me. What about you?" the blonde looked him in the eye as she dared him to tell her nothing.

He swallowed his saliva and was about to answer but she beat him to it, "And I know about the secret meetings with someone so do answer truthfully and not with the usual 'It's nothing.'" She smirked at him as he widened his eyes, she used his words back at him and he realized something, that girl is dangerous.

The fact that she knew about the secret meetings rang the alarms in his head and questions started flooding his head, like how? When? Why hadn't she talked to him about it before?

More questions kept running in his head and Lucy could see the wheels in his head working, she giggled softly and that caught his attention, she smiled warmly at him "It's okay, you can do whatever you like. But sneaking up in the property like that is a bit disrespectful, so do tell your friends that they could come in and talk to you in the mansion."

"Ho- how the hell did you find out?" Jellal was beyond bewildered, every time he thinks he saw everything that Lucy has she surprises him with more.

She chuckled and shook her head "You either forgot that there are hidden magic sensors all over the property or you are playing dumb."

Jellal slapped his forehead before he groaned and planted face first into the mattress. The blonde giggled at his reaction, earning a scowl from the bluenette.

"Nothing ever gets past you Heartfilia, huh?" he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

"First of all, it's not like I was following you around, I just kept checking the sensors and they showed that there were magical residue in the garden behind the mansion, but it showed that it was not malice so I thought that maybe it was some magical beast, but then I noticed that you were disappearing quite frequently and going in the same direction of the magical residues so I figured that you were meeting up with someone since they signaled three different kind of magic, so yeah I just added things up and- oh would you stop looking at me like that!" she threw a pillow at him that was on the sofa she was sitting on.

"Like what?" he said as he easily caught the pillow.

"Like I'm a crazy stalker! I once knew one who was like that and trust me I am nothing like her." she pouted cutely as Jellal still looked at her as if she was crazy.

He chuckled and it grew louder till he was full on laughing his heart out, Lucy all the while was looking at him with raised eyebrows as the man kept laughing. A soft smile appeared on her face as she thought that this was her first time ever seeing him laugh this much, Jellal noticed that smile and stopped laughing, he looked at her "What?"

She shook her head and answered him with a nothing, Jellal composed himself and heaved out a sigh, he seemed troubled by what was going on with him so Lucy thought of something to make him feel better, "Therapy session?"

Jellal locked eyes with the blonde's and cracked up a smile "Yeah sure."

Lucy got up from the sofa and brought a pillow with her, she climbed the bed and laid next to Jellal as he put his head on the pillow that was on the blonde's lap and Lucy started playing with his hair.

"Tell your mother about what's bothering you." she smiled as he laughed a bit.

"I thought you hated the nickname." Jellal said as he chuckled.

"Well I figured might as well, in the end I do love a big family." The both of them started chuckling before they both quieted down.

Jellal closed his eyes and was enjoying Lucy' fingers in his hair, he exhaled a breath and began telling her what was bothering him, "Two girls were going to break me out of jail, but then you brought me out of there and I am forever grateful. But… I just feel like there is something more I should be doing."

Lucy listened carefully at what the bluenette was telling her, "I just feel… unworthy of everything that's happening to me right now, I don't even know why you helped me back then even after everything that I have done, I just feel like… that I need to atone the sins that I committed."

Silence ensued between the two, Jellal not knowing how to continue and Lucy analyzing what the bluenette just told, she didn't understand anything but there was one thing she was sure of, she called out his name.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, he could see the worry and sadness in her eyes and he felt guilty that he was making her feel that way, but what she said shook him to the core.

"When I heard you laughing just right now, I was so happy! You are always so serious, that sometimes you don't see the bright side of things. When I look at you I don't see someone who in the past did something bad, I just see someone who deserves the world for what he went through, someone who deserves to smile more, laugh more, and enjoy his life more, because you are living Jellal, even when sometimes you think you aren't. And if you feel like you want to do more, please let us help you, you are not alone anymore, you have people who care for you and wish you the best in life, so please... let us in."

Jellal all the while was looking in the blonde's brown orbs as she expressed her feelings about the issue, and all what he could see was pure sincerity is every word she said, he was flooded by the worry evident in her eyes and he didn't know what to do. His eyes misted and he quickly closed them before forming a weak smile on his face.

"Yeah, I think I will."

XXX

Jellal sat nervous in Lucy' office, fidgeting in his chair every once in a while before he got up and went to the window.

Through the lush trimmed green bushes and colorful roses, was a white table that three females were surrounding, each having a cup of tea. From his position, he could also see that two of the tree females were extremely nervous. He shook his head and went back inside, leaving it to the blonde to handle the meeting.

Last night after they were done with the meeting, Jellal slipped that these two females were on Tenrou Island before it exploded and Lucy instantly wanted to meet them, so he agreed on it and now here she was having tea with Ultear and Meredy.

With the three women, Ultear and Meredy were barely drinking their tea and Lucy could feel their unease with the whole situation, so she gave them a small smile and told them not to worry, that she just wanted to know about what happened at the island.

They gave each other quizzical looks before Ultear told the blonde everything they knew of, at the end of the story Lucy held a stoic mask, a lot of things were going through her mind but she shook her head and decided to think about these things later. She smiled at the two girls and they both were shocked to see tears falling on her face, the blonde didn't even notice she was crying.

"Lucy-san are you alright?" Meredy shyly asked.

The blonde looked confused before a drop of water hit the table, making the blonde look down before bringing a hand on her face only to feel that it was wet. She looked at the two females before her and wiped her tears "Excuse me, I just felt happy for a bit, this is the first time I've heard about them in a long time, I guess I just miss them."

Meredy and Ultear both nodded, the blonde got up and ushered them to follow her. They went in the mansion and got up to the second floor where Jellal was waiting in the office, Lucy opened the door only to see that the office was empty, she told the two girls to wait there while she fetched Jellal.

She found him in the kitchen pacing in front of the chef while the latter looked as if he will explode any minute, the blonde giggled and that caught both the men's attention. Jellal quickly bounded to her and asked about what happened, she only told him that they are waiting in her office for him.

He left her with the chef and went to the office, Lucy turned to the chef to see him exhaling a breath of relief.

"That bad?" the blonde asked.

"You have no idea." Zeno replied "He almost scorched the floor with his pacing."

The blonde laughed and left for the library, figuring she would do some reading. What she didn't expect was to see Angel there reading books, magical ones as well.

"Sorano, are you feeling alright?" the blonde inquired causing the silverette to yelp and bump her head into a shelf.

Lucy stifled a laugh and went to check on her, Angel kept rubbing the sore spot on her head as she looked at Lucy.

"You completely surprised back there mommy!" Angel whined, "I am not used to you calling me by my name."

The blonde chuckled, "Yeah I know, not only you the others as well. Well it's your fault for telling me your real names. By the way, what are you doing?"

Lucy looked around Angel and at the mess she created, books about magic and different kinds were scattered all over the floor. Angel followed her line of view and scratched her cheek "Well I figured since I didn't work out as a celestial spirit mage, I should try some other magic and so I started searching for something else."

The blonde contemplated a bit before asking the silverette, "Well have you ever thought about being something other than a mage?"

Angel shook her head furiously, "Nope, not a second in my life. Why are you asking?"

Lucy sat crisscrossed on the floor, "Well because I got a nice deal and I am looking for someone to help me and I thought of you."

Angel looked confused as she pointed a finger at herself "Me?! How could I ever help you?"

Lucy smiled, "Well I bought a building in Magnolia, and I am planning on turning it to a spa, and I need a partner so I thought about you. So, what do you say, interested in owning half a spa?"

Angel' mouth hung open as she stared in disbelief at Lucy, "You are joking, you have to be. Because this is not possible, why would you ask me? Why would you-"

"Because you know about this stuff much more than I do since you always take care of yourself, you know about which brands I should get, and what to do and what not to do, so it's only fair that you get 50%, don't you think?"

Angel could only flung herself in Lucy' arms as she thanked her over and over again while crying. Lucy held her tightly to her as she smiled while looking down at the quivering form of the silverette.

"You are the best mommy ever!" Angel whispered while sniffling and Lucy giggled.

Slowly Lucy let her go and wiped Angel' tear stained cheeks, "Work starts tomorrow early at nine, be prepared."

"Yes Ma'am!" Angel saluted her before she scrambled off the ground to her room to prepare herself for the next day.

Lucy got up the floor and walked to her room. Arriving at her door, she opened it and walked in, going towards the night stand beside her bed, she opened the second drawer and took out the white file she prepared for Fairy Tail, the monthly money she sent out. Before she closed the drawer, her eyes landed on her late father's letter that she still hasn't opened till now. She didn't know what was stopping her from reading the letter, she just felt as if she wasn't ready to know what's in it, so she left it. She wasn't ready about his sudden death, but she wanted to be ready about his final words to her.

She left her room and descended the stairs, she spotted three mops of blond hair running after each other, at first she thought they were playing together but then she saw Sawyer running behind them with a doodled mustache and understood what was happening. She didn't know why but her kids loved to mess with everyone, but Sawyer was their favorite, and Lucy thought about the different reasons why but she stopped at the fact that his reactions are priceless.

She walked in the main hall and opened the door, ready to leave but was stopped when a hand tickled her from the side. She shrieked and spun around only to meet her annoying brother with a smirk planted on his face.

"Where you going Sunshine?"

The blonde inhaled a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm her frantic heart. She knew Cobra didn't mean anything by it, she was just on edge with everything that has been going on. She gave him a weak smile and answered his question, "Therapy."

He nodded his head and kissed her forehead goodbye, assuring her that he and the others will keep watch of the kids.

She bid him farewell and left, grateful for his care for her and her kids. She took to the road, and soon she reached her first destination. She dropped the mail with the mailman and then left to the rune knights' headquarters, they all didn't trust any normal therapist, so Lucy went to the one the military uses, being in a good relationship with some captains and knights they allowed her to take sessions there.

She reached the HQ and went to the medical wing where she saw her therapist, Doctor Linda Stylez, waiting for her with the door open. The blonde came in and her therapist stood up to greet her, her green inviting eyes that are shadowed by her long silky black hair brightened when she saw the blonde.

"Good morning Lucy-san, how are you today?" Linda asked the blonde with a welcoming smile.

"I am alright, thank you for asking Linda-san, how are you?" Lucy replied and when Linda said that she was as well alright, they began their session.

Midway through it, Linda excused herself to go to the bathroom. Lucy was waiting for her when she got bored, so she started to look around. Linda' office was nicely decorated, with large windows and many bookcases, small antiques here and there and her diplomas laid on the wall next to the door. Lucy started scanning her diplomas when she came across a picture that she didn't realize was there, it was of Linda when she was young but with another boy. Lucy caressed the boy's face and she swore she has seen him before, he was tanned and had dark hair, he was smiling weakly at Linda as the latter hugged him. She was about to grab the picture when Linda spoke from behind her.

"That was my childhood best friend."

Lucy jumped from her spot before she swiveled around and came face to face with Linda' sad smile.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn-"

"It's alright Lucy-san, I don't mind." Linda giggled softly as she gazed at the picture behind Lucy.

"What happened to him?" Lucy asked delicately.

"He was killed when we were young. But, he still lives on in my heart." Linda laid her hand above her heart while she looked at Lucy with a bit of sadness and something else, but Lucy couldn't decipher what it was. No matter, it made a chill run up her spine.

"I'm so sorry for you loss."

"Thank you Lucy-san, now let's continue with you. Has the nightmares stopped a bit?" Linda took her pen once more to scribble on her notepad while Lucy gave her the answers.

"No, it… it actually got worse."

Linda raised her eyebrows before she wrote something down, she then looked at the blonde, "And are your house mates by any chance, are troubling you with something?"

The blonde was quick to shake her head, "No not all, they are the best family anyone could ever wish for, I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for them."

The grip on Linda' pen tightened as she continued to write in her notepad. Lucy' eyes flew towards the pen and she noticed that it was starting to break, she realized that she did a mistake and was quick to apologize, "I'm so sorry Linda-san, I didn't mean to upset you."

Linda immediately brightened up, "Nonsense, what are you talking about?! Let's move on."

As they continued with the session, Lucy' eyes kept darting towards the pen that Linda was writing with. When they were done, Lucy bid farewell the woman and got out of the clinic, she released the breath that she didn't even realize she was holding.

Walking down the corridor, she kept thinking about her therapist's strange behavior. She didn't notice where she was going so she bumped into someone and fell flat on her bottom, she quickly got up and was about to apologize until the mysterious person spoke up.

"Lucy-san?"

Lucy looked up to see Lahar standing before her, she smiled and greeted him.

"I suppose you are here for your session?" he inquired and she nodded.

"Yeah, just finished with it honestly."

He heaved a sigh, "That's good." It was now that Lucy noticed the bags under the man's eyes and his ragged breath. She took a step closer to him and was about to ask him if he was alright when he fainted, Lucy quickly dove in and caught him just in time, then started shouting for help and other knights rushed to her aid.

…

Lahar slowly opened his eyes before he shot upright from the couch he was laying on, only for a hand to push him back for him to lay down again.

"Easy Lahar-san, you aren't off the hook yet." A gentle voice from next to him said and Lahar looked at his side to see Lucy sitting on a stool next to him.

"Lucy…san?"

"Hai!" the blonde cheerfully answered as she took the rag from his forehead to place another one.

"Wh-what happened?" asked Lahar as he gazed around to find himself in his office.

"You passed out when you were talking to me. Your guards told me that it's because you are working really hard for the royal banquet", her tone then turned scolding, "but seriously Lahar-san you need to take care of yourself!"

"I- I'm fine!" he felt heat rush to his face and he didn't know if it was because of the fever or of the way the blonde was taking care of him.

He started to get up but was pushed back by the blonde once again, he was about to argue but she gave him a stern look that made him think otherwise.

"Your knights can manage without their captain for a few hours Lahar-san, alright? Plus, these are your knights, so you have nothing to worry about, they are more than capable." She smiled at him as she put another rag on his forehead, and he surrendered himself to her, leaving himself vulnerable in her care.

"Yeah… I know." He heaved a sigh as he thought about all the work that was left for him to do.

He fell back asleep and Lucy put a light blanket on him, looking around she noticed that the office was a mess and figured that he didn't have time to clean up. She shook her head and rolled up her sleeves, then got to work.

As she was cleaning, she noticed a huge stack of finance paperwork on his desk and muttered "Why does everybody hate paperwork?"

When she was done with cleaning the office, she took to the paperwork and started finishing it up quickly.

An hour later, Lahar woke up feeling better. He looked around him and was shocked by what he saw, he was quick on his feet when he heard the door behind him open but relaxed when he saw the blonde walking in with a cup of coffee. Looking outside the window, he could see the sun's light starting to fade.

"Lahar-san, how are you feeling?"

He turned around to meet the blonde's worried gaze, then started looking around his office, at first he didn't even recognize his own office by how neat and tidy it became. He turned back to the blonde, "Are you the one who did this?"

The blonde, suddenly realizing that what she did was a major invasion of privacy, started stuttering and apologizing to the man before her. Her face reddened from the amount of embarrassment she felt, but then she heard Lahar chuckle and she shot her head upwards.

"You know, for a minute, I didn't even know it was my office." He chuckled once more, "Thank you so much Lucy-san, for everything."

The blonde heaved a sigh of relief before she smiled brightly at the man, "After everything you helped us with, you deserve much more Lahar-san, I should be thanking you."

Lahar quickly turned around to hide the blush forming on his face, "Yeah, don't worry about it." He could hear the blonde giggle from behind him, he sighed and went to check on the paperwork stacked on his desk when he noticed it was divided in many piles.

"Oh yeah, I also did the paperwork, I hope I wasn't trespassing, I just wanted to help, you seemed very exhausted and I didn't have anything to do so I thought I would take them off your hands and-"

"Lucy-san!" he called out to stop her from further rambling, she shut her mouth and looked at him, "Thank you, you worked in such precision and speed, you must be used to this."

Lucy chuckled as she came to stand next to him, "Yeah I helped my father with the paperwork, it wasn't much different so it was easy to pick up. All you need right now is to just sign them and it would be done. I also divided them according to the topic they are handling, so medical affairs, military affairs and such are all piled up in their own category."

Lahar looked astonishingly at the girl that stood beside him, and he thought that nobody could compete with her big heart and kindness. But then he saw her face change from a relaxed one to a worried one.

She shot her eyes and locked them with his, "Lahar-san, I need to tell you something."

He gulped and nodded his head for her to continue, "I wish to help you with the royal banquet."

He widened his eyes and was about to deny her request when she cut him to it, "While doing the paperwork, I came across something. There were so many deliveries to the offices, and that usually won't raise suspicion, but the company you are dealing with is the same company I deal with. They usually don't take this much money, I could be wrong but it would be best to check up on things."

Lahar looked at the papers on the desk before looking back at the blonde, "That is true, at first we did think it was weird but the company said that it was because we order in large quantities that this happened."

"What do you mean at first?" Lucy questioned as she sat on the chair opposite of the desk.

Lahar, who didn't want her to intervene in this matter because she had enough on her plate, didn't know why he was giving her the information. Maybe it was because he needed an outsider view on the matter, or maybe it was because he didn't want her to leave just yet.

"Oh come on Lahar-san! We agreed on a deal remember, you help me and I help you." she sat expectantly on the chair as she waited for him to answer her question.

He knew that she was right, and he didn't even know why he was fighting back when it was obvious that it's no point telling her not to intervene. He sat on his desk chair and answered her question, "It started almost four years ago, they started to take more and more from us and blamed it on the quantity we were ordering."

"So it wasn't always like this?"

Lahar shook his head. Lucy slumped in her chair, after a few minutes she checked the time then got up, "Lahar-san, is it possible to know what the office is ordering? And how long till the royal banquet?"

Lahar stood up as well for he figured she was going to leave, "Yes it is possible and The Royal Banquet is in four and a half months, why?"

"Plenty of time to figure this out, I should be going, it's gotten late." Lucy turned to Lahar, "Take care of yourself and don't overwork, alright? Goodnight Lahar-san."

She turned around to leave but he called out for her, "Wait Lucy-san, how did you know that something was going to happen at the banquet?"

"Well, all the delivery dates for weapons are for a day before the banquet, so I think it was more of a lucky guess." She waved him goodbye and left.

Lahar closed the door behind her and went to his desk, he looked out the window and after a few minutes he could see her walk out for the HQ. He widened his eyes and hit his head at the table.

"Such an idiot, I didn't even request to take her home." As he got up, he looked outside the window to see that she was already long gone.

He sat back in his chair and started rubbing his forehead, "Honestly, such an idiot I am." He slumped in his chair and stared at his ceiling.

XXX

Sitting on the train watching from the window as the sceneries change before her eyes, Lucy sighed because a bad feeling has not left her at all today.

She felt that something strange was about to happen and she wasn't prepared for it, she thought that living the business life will put her more at ease, but that doesn't seem the case for her, because Lucy missed fighting, missed being in a guild, going on missions.

She loves everything that she's doing right now, but she also feels that there is something missing, her heart is begging for some adventure but Lucy is sure that she can't answer that call. She is a mother, a businesswoman, she has a duty that she couldn't abandon and would never think of doing so.

The train stopped and she got up of the leather sofa, being the owner of all railways now whenever she goes on train they immediately prepare her one of the best elite rooms, with complete services. The elite room stands for a special room for special guests, it has a bedroom with a bathroom, a small living room with a communication lacrima used to ordering food or anything else.

An attendant came by and knocked on her door, "Miss Heartfilia, we have arrived."

Lucy opened the door and stepped out after she thanked the attendant. Walking the normal way home, she pondered about her extreme uneasiness with the therapist, and not only her, some guards as well have been keeping an eye on the blonde whenever she would cross the main hallway.

She sighed as she shook her head, having arrived at the mansion she opens the door only to be knocked back.

"Mommy!" Red yells as he hugs his mother.

Justin and Layla come and lay on top of their mother to join in on the hug, Lucy embraces them all before they help her up. She dusts herself and then walks in with her three little angels right behind her.

"They surprised you didn't they?" asked Hoteye as he hugged the blonde.

She gave him a smile, "They did, but I needed that."

He nodded and ushered her for the dining room, "Come on, we were waiting for you."

"What? You didn't have to wait for me for dinner." Lucy blushed as he led her to the table.

"As if we could eat without you Sunshine." Cobra sent her a wink as the others nodded.

They all sat at the table and enjoyed their dinner, Cobra breathed a sigh of relief at how everything was going well, that is until Red opened his mouth.

"Mommy, Mommy, look at what I can do." Lucy looked at her son and saw him get up to the electrical socket and put his finger through it, Lucy screamed at her son to get away but when she saw the electricity traverse on his hand and up his arm, her fear turned to shock as she hung her mouth open.

Justin rose from his seat, "Mommy, Mommy, me too. Look, look." He got up next to his brother and touched him, the electricity moved from Red to Justin and both boys' hair electrified. They stared at their mother and grinned, Lucy slowly closed her mouth as she heard Cobra mutter something about how the kids don't know what 'Don't tell your mother' means.

Lucy steadily rose from her seat and came next to her boys, Justin quickly put his arms up, "Don't mommy, you get hurt."

She smiled and shook her head, reaching out with her finger she booped Justin on his nose and watched as the electricity slowly made its way onto her arm before disappearing.

She got up and looked at her brother to see a cloud of gloom hung above his head, she laughed at his expression then her gaze slid down to her kids, they were both beaming up at her with so much love and adoration. Red took out his finger and the electricity still cackled around them, Layla came up next to her brothers with a pout, "Mommy I can't do that."

Lucy got down and brought all her kids in a hug, "It's okay sweetie. You two," she pointed at Red and Justin, "Good work both of you, and Layla", she looked at her daughter's pout and pinched it gently, "It's okay, you only need time."

They all nodded their heads and rushed back to their seats, all of the occupants on the table were looking at Lucy, and they all noticed her wicked grin.

"Oh this ought to be good." Angel interlaced her fingers and supported her head on them.

"Indeed." Midnight slid his gaze at Cobra who was muttering profanities, they all wondered why was the poison dragon slayer so antsy the whole day after these two showed them what they could do.

It was more of an accident really, Red stuck his thumb in the electrical socked and didn't feel any pain, it was as if the electricity welcomed him, so was the same with Justin. But when Layla touched Justin, she got hurt. After that, Cobra started begging the two boys not to tell their mother.

"With how all of you are not surprised, I take it they showed you all." Lucy said and all nodded except for Cobra who still had the gloom aura around him.

The wicked smile returned to the blonde's face much worse than the last, she looked at her brother and called out for him, "Coco-nii, I take it you told them to be quiet about it?"

After a few seconds he nodded, already accepting his fate and knowing there's no way to get out of this.

He locked eyes with the blonde's and he already knew he was going to regret this, "Fuck my life."

Lucy laughed as the rest all looked confused about what's going on, she noticed their confusion and addressed them, "No worries, it will all become clear tomorrow."

They finished dinner and all went their separate ways, except for Lucy and the kids, she took them to their room and showered them. Each kid then climbed into their respectful beds and waited for their mother to tell them a story.

This time, Lucy told them about when they all went to Galuna Island. About the curse, the demons that were all along demons and not humans, about Gray and his friend, Lyon. About Natsu and his fight against Yuka and Toby, about her fight with Sherry, and how she got Sagittarius' key from it.

They all looked at her when she was done and demanded more stories, so she told them about how Gajeel and the Raijinshuu helped her when she was pregnant with them, they didn't know what the word pregnant meant and she tried to explain as best as she could.

When she was done with the story, she heard her kids' soft snores and got up to turn off the lights, she gave each one a kiss on the forehead and was about to head out when she heard Red whisper to her, "Mommy, who is our daddy?"

Lucy froze upon hearing the question, she slowly turned to her kid and asked him from where the question came from.

"Uncle Jellal was weading us a story, about a pwincess and her family, she had a daddy, so we ask what is daddy, and he told us, then we ask about our daddy, and he said to ask you." Red explained in a quiet voice, knowing that his other siblings are asleep, but that wasn't the case, both Justin and Layla woke up the second their brother asked the question, Justin with his good hearing and Layla because she wasn't asleep yet.

Lucy' brain shut down as she tried to come up with an answer to this question, but she couldn't find any at all, so she stood there in front of the door breathing rapidly.

A chime was heard and a golden glow shone in the room before it faded and there stood Loke, he looked at Lucy then at the kids who all yelled for him to come and carry them. He got closer and sat at Red' bed, "Your daddy was a good man, he was just treated badly."

Layla climbed up Red' bed and snuggled next to him, "What does it mean?"

Loke fixed his glasses and glanced back at Lucy who was looking at him quizzically, he decided that it was time that the blonde knew.

He turned back to Layla, "His daddy was a bad guy, he hurt him, and then your daddy hurt your mommy, but he didn't mean to."

Justin as well climbed the bed, "Daddy hurt mommy, but isn't daddy supposed to pwotect mommy?"

Loke nodded slowly, "He should, but he couldn't. Like I said, his daddy is a bad man, so he forced your daddy to hurt your mommy." Layla and the boys gasped.

"Loke what are you doing?" Lucy took a step forward.

"Uncle Loke, is he better now?" asked Red, tears glistening his face.

Loke cleared his throat, but before he could talk Layla cut in, "Uncle Loke, is daddy good?"

Loke held on his face a bittersweet smile, "He was."

Lucy widened her eyes at what her spirit said, after all this time, why is Loke defending Laxus? He hated him the most.

"Do you remember when your mommy told you about the island that disappeared?" they all nodded their heads.

"He was there." Loke could hear Lucy gasp from behind him.

"He fought the dragon with so much bravery, he told everyone to give it their all so that we could win against the dragon. He came to the rescue of team Natsu when they were against a real bad guy as well. So yes, he was a good man."

The kids' eyes shone with pride for their father, they all started talking about how cool and brave he was, that was until Justin asked Loke about their father's whereabouts.

"Like I told you, he was on the island." Loke said with a sad tone.

"Oh no." Layla gripped the sheets and brought them close to her.

He got up, "But you shouldn't worry, after all your father and family are all fairy tail wizards, they don't know what it means to give up. So don't you dare do that." He fixed his suit and smiled as they all nodded their heads with determination, from the corner of his eye he could see Lucy' tears flowing and he knew he should talk to her about what happened.

That was until she gave him a closed eye smile and he stumbled back, she brought her hands to her face and started crying in them. Her whole body shook and he quickly was by her side, him and the kids who started asking her about what was wrong.

He heard her whisper about something, and when he brought her into his chest he figured out what she was saying.

"Thank you, thank you so much Loke."

He pushed her away softly, looking confused he asked her for what, and her answer shocked him.

"Now I can finally see him as someone else, as someone who didn't hurt me but fought to protect my family. So thank you, thank you so much." She hugged him and he held her tightly against him.

'I'm such an idiot…' he thought as Lucy cried in his arms.

"No you're not." She hiccupped.

"Eh?" he was bewildered by what she said.

She looked up at him, "You are not an idiot, I probably wouldn't have taken it well if you told me earlier, now was the perfect time so thank you Loke."

Loke widened his eyes, he was for sure he didn't say anything out loud, and he thought about testing this out.

'But I was, I shouldn't have kept this from you.'

Lucy widened her eyes as she heard him but didn't see his lips move at all, she took a step back, "What?"

"You heard me didn't you?" he asked while smiling.

She nodded her head, and he brought her into a hug and spun her around.

"Do you know what this means Princess?!" he exclaimed loudly as he continued to spin her.

"No and please stop I am starting to get dizzy." She begged her spirit who apologized and let her down, she staggered a bit but he held her firm.

"I wanna play too." Layla said with her arms up, Loke held her and started turning her around while he explained to his princess.

"You formed a telepathic link with me Princess, now we can communicate with each other without even needing to summon me." He said as he put Layla down and took Justin to give him the same treatment.

The blonde smiled brightly as she brought her hands together, "Seriously?! How?!"

"It's when the bond between the spirit and its master is deep that this happens, seriously I can't wait to shove it in Corvus' face."

They both laughed as Red took his turn, then they put the kids back in their beds and walked out of the room after they gave them goodnight kisses.

"I'm heading back, goodnight Princess." He kissed her on her forehead and vanished back to his world after she as well bid him goodnight.

She stalked back to her room, once arriving she discarded her clothes and went to the bathroom, she opened up a cabinet where she kept some wine in and turned on the tub's faucet. Once the tub was filled, she turned it off, went to her room to fetch something then came back. She placed the wine bottle and glasses on the counter next to the tub as she lowered herself in the water.

Sighing once the hot water touched her body she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, thinking about the events that occurred today and the heavy shock that her boys were indeed lightning dragon slayers.

She didn't want them to be.

It's not that she hated the magic, and it's not because of Laxus. But it's because she didn't want her kids to be targets. Magic such as hers and the slayers was rare, and people used it for all kinds of bad things, she didn't want her kids mixed up in some plot to take down the world in using their magic.

But it wasn't her choice.

And she has to be okay with it, it just means that she would have to protect them better, and that's fine with her.

She looked at the object that she fetched and picked it up, putting its tip in the water she chanted, "Open, gate of the water bearer, Aquarius!"

A bell chime was heard, the water rippled a bit as the mermaid spirit appeared before Lucy. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Lucy, the latter gave her a sheepish smile.

"Trying to recreate the past brat?"

Lucy laughed a bit then sighed, "I wish."

Aquarius' face softened as she slid into the water as well, Lucy handed her a glass already filled with wine, Aquarius took it from her and laid back in the water.

"What's on your mind brat?"

"A lot," Lucy closed her eyes to shake the tears that started to pile, "A lot is on my mind."

Aquarius watched her thoughtfully, at first she couldn't see past the little girl who used to beg her to play with, the little girl who would call her in the bathroom to keep her company, ironically like she did at the moment. But this little girl, got broken.

She went through so much as a child, but never once has she lost her radiance, her smile, her light. And it was what made Lucy, Lucy.

But now, all she sees in front of her is a girl whose childhood was stolen. A teenage girl at seventeen turned into a mother, a girl who lost so many people left and right, but yet she still smiles. She still has her light, and her radiance if not more. She brought a band of criminals and turned them into her family.

Now Aquarius realized, that Lucy in no longer the brat from her memories, and she missed that.

She missed the girl who would call her out in the middle of the battle, the girl who would get annoyed at her attitude and she definitely missed washing her away with her waves.

This girl is no longer a girl, she turned into a woman, and Aquarius respects that woman.

She put down her glass of wine and laid back her head, "You know Lucy."

Lucy perked up, not expecting Aquarius to call her by the name and not by her usual cute nickname for her, brat.

"Yes…?"

"When you were a kid, you were the whiniest brat there ever was."

Yup, that's her Aquarius.

"You used to whine all the time that you didn't have any friends, or anyone to play with."

Lucy nodded her head as she recalled the memories. She raised her glass to take a sip.

"Is that still the case?"

The glass stilled in her hand.

She looked at Aquarius to see her staring at her with a frown tugging at her lips.

Lucy shook her head, and Aquarius nodded. "Good."

Aquarius quietened and took her glass once more, Lucy watched Aquarius warily trying to analyze her words. No she isn't alone anymore and she knew that, she had friends and family that would go beyond their capability to help her and she would do the same, so what did she mean by that. Her thoughts were interrupted when Aquarius spoke again.

"How long do you think you can keep this façade up?"

Lucy' head shot up, "What are you talking about?"

Aquarius had her eyes closed, "Lucy." She opened them, "Are you dealing with your problems, or are you running away?"

"I am." The blonde responded defensively.

"You aren't." Aquarius' tone had an edge.

Lucy shrunk back, and watched as Aquarius' glare returned.

"How are you dealing with your problems if when your kids asked you about their father you froze? How are you dealing with your problems if your nightmares intensified? How are you dealing with your problems if you get triggered by being called Blondie?"

Lucy flinched at that, her eyes were cast down so that Aquarius can't see the emotions that she was sure were flooding her eyes at the moment.

"I am going to a therapist but I feel uneasy with h-"

"Excuses!" Aquarius spat out, "What's stopping you from going to another therapist?"

Lucy gulped, because Aquarius was right. She promised her brother that she would get help, but she's still running away from everything, busying herself with more work so that she doesn't have the time to face her demons.

"Lucy, why haven't you still opened up your father's letter?"

It was the last straw, the blonde broke down. She put her glass on the counter as to not spill the wine from it and sobbed.

She cried so much that it started to get harder to breathe, and Aquarius sat there watching her break down, watching her break the mask she put on.

She got up from the tub and floated on the water, she approached the blonde and brought her in an embrace, "Lucy, I know it's hard, but stop running." This time her voice was softer, "You need to let the emotions piled up in you to spill, and you can do that without a therapist."

She started to play with the blonde's locks as the latter started to quiet down and sniffle, "Lucy, don't let yourself break more, stop running away and face everything head on, that's what you did with your pregnancy right?."

The blonde nodded, everything that Aquarius said was true. She needed to face this head on and to stop hiding or running away from it. She wiped her tears and laid back in the water, "I can always count on you for advice huh Aquarius?"

The spirit grunted as a response but tipped her head towards the blonde when she called out for her, "Call me brat, I don't want anything else to change."

Aquarius smiled sadly at the blonde as she nodded then faded back to her world, leaving the blonde deep in her thoughts.

This night was the first in a while that Lucy got some good sleep in.

…

Corvus was standing on the edge of a floating island in the celestial spirit world when Loke approached him.

"Are you ready?" the lion spirit asked the crow spirit.

Corvus heaved a sigh before shaking his head, "Can I bid her goodbye first?"

Loke fixed his glasses before turning around and started walking away, "The celestial spirit king told me to fetch you, except I haven't found you yet."

Corvus cracked a smile and turned to the lion spirit, he will never tell him that but he will miss everyone here. He enjoyed his time in the celestial spirit world, even if it wasn't meant to be like that.

"Corvus." Loke called out to him, "Wherever you are, the competition is still on."

Corvus chuckled at the lion's words, "You bet, though I feel like I have already won."

The lion snickered, "Fat chance of that happening, her kids adore me."

It was quiet for a while until Loke faced him and sent him a grin. There were no words needed, his time in this world has come to an end, and Corvus needed to accept that. But that still doesn't mean that he wasn't going to miss certain people.

He vanished from the celestial spirit world and appeared in the blonde's bedroom, checking the clock it appeared to be 5 in the morning. He sighed and shook her a bit to wake her up.

Opening her eyes groggily, Lucy sat up only to see Corvus staring at her.

"Corvus?" she sent him a quizzical look and he just answered her with a sad smile.

"I came here to bid you farewell Princess."

Lucy' eyes widened as she straightened up in her bed, tears already gathering in the corner of her eyes, "Wh- what are you talking about?"

He let out a dejected sigh as he sat on her bed, he looked at her key ring next to the bed and picked it up, he took his key out of the ring and handed it to her.

Lucy looked at the silver key in her hand, its top had silver wings and his mark on in the white shone. She caressed the key then looked at him, confused of what he was trying to do.

He took a deep breath then began his story, "I'm going back to my world Princess."

Lucy was shocked by his words, she tried to say something but nothing came out of her mouth.

"I know, it is shocking. I am not from the celestial spirit realm, I am from another one, a darker one, a more powerful one."

He stopped for seconds to let that sink in before he continued, "I was thrown in the celestial spirit world for a crime I did, it was my punishment."

Lucy was barely even breathing nor blinking at this point, she was listening to his story with wrapped attention.

"I got turned into a silver key, and it limited my powers greatly. It also cost me my weapon."

Lucy took in a shuddering breath, she was not understanding anything of what was going on and she didn't like that, "What is going on Corvus? What do you mean going back to your world? What do you mean your key turned silver? I don-"

He put his finger on her lips to shush her, she quietened and he continued, "I know it's strange, but I couldn't tell you earlier because it was forbidden to talk about this, it still is. The king doesn't know I'm here, I came to explain myself and to say goodbye."

A tear escaped Lucy' eye and he gently wiped it away, "I killed my former master."

Lucy gasped, she remembered Loke and his past. She remembered how he was ready to fade from existence because of the immense guilt he felt, and Lucy thought that the same was going to happen to Corvus. But he said that he was going back to his world, and she hadn't heard of anything like that before now.

"Do I need to talk to Stash face? I'll call him right now I don't give a fu-"

Corvus looked at her confused, "To who?"

"Stash face." She answered confidently.

"And that would be…?" Corvus drawled out.

Lucy looked at him weirdly and answered, "The king."

Corvus' eyes widened before he put his hand on his mouth and started cackling like a maniac. Lucy looked at him trying hard to contain her laughter but soon enough she joined him.

At this point Corvus started wheezing, "You call…" he took in a breath, "The king…" another breath, "Stash face?!" tears were leaking from his eyes, his face was all red and it got to the point where breathing was proven to be the hardest thing to do.

After a while they both quietened down, Corvus wiped his tears and was about to go into another laughing fit when he was reminded that he doesn't have much time left.

"Listen up Lucy." She noticed how his demeanor changed back to serious and gave him her full attention.

"The reason I killed my master was because she was murdering kids for her merriment, and I hated that."

Lucy' mouth hung open but she didn't interrupt him, "She was a vile master, and I hated her with everything I ever had, so I killed her. I brought down my axe on her and killed her. My king found out and sent me to the celestial world where I got turned into a silver key and lost half of my powers. I didn't care about that, I hated our rules, just because we are spirits doesn't mean we don't know what's right and what's wrong, so when I saw no one was taking action of this I took it my own. I have been stuck in that world for over a hundred years, until you came along and that's when things changed for me, and now I was excused back to my world. It was all because of you Lucy that I get to go back to my home."

"But- but what did I do?"

"You showed me that not all masters are evil, that humans can be kind. You changed my perspective on so many things and now when I go back home, I will tell everyone about you, and about your gigantic heart. And the fact that you call the celestial spirit king Stash face."

Lucy laughed a bit but then fell silent, "Why are you talking as if we won't see each other again?" Lucy bit back a sob.

He sighed and looked outside her window at the sun that was starting to rise, "When I go back to my world our contract will break."

"What? No!" Lucy gasped and held onto his hands, there was no stopping the tears that were spilling down her cheeks now.

He brought her in to a hug, "Lucy you can call me again to form a contract, but not right now. Now…" he didn't know how he was going to tell her that, he knew about her insecurities with her abilities and what he was going to say next would be a major blow to her.

"Now… I'm not strong enough am I?" she whispered as she brought her hands around his back and clasped them together.

He didn't know how to answer that so he opted to nod at her question, "Our keys Lucy require a ton of magic, when I was turned to a silver key it was possible for you to summon me, but when I take back my power, it will be too much for your body and you might die."

She started shaking in his hands, all these years she was working to become stronger and now this? She trained almost every day so that she is able to handle herself and to protect her loved ones. But to be told that one of her spirits can't be summoned because of her tore a rift in her heart that broke her. Because the problem was from her and not her spirit.

"_Stop running away and face everything head on!"_

She remembered Aquarius' words and smiled, that's right. No more running away.

She looked up at Corvus and smiled, "So all I need to do is train harder."

Corvus widened his eyes from shock at seeing how determined she was, few seconds passed and he slowly nodded his head, "Uh… yeah."

"Okay! And Corvus?"

He raised his eyebrow in question, Lucy just gave him a closed eye smile, "Don't you dare forget about your family here, alright?"

His eyes started to glisten but he just shook his head, he crushed her in a hug before he let her go. He stood up and turned to see her standing up as well.

"Lucy, my keys and the other are labeled as Legendary Keys. We differ from the other keys in strength and superiority, and also that we get to choose our master. And Lucy Heartfilia, I choose you, and I'm pretty sure that my comrades will love to follow you too, though…" he shuddered, "Some of them are downright scary."

She laughed at the expression he was making, "They got you scared Corvus?"

He nodded and muttered out, "You have no idea."

They both got closer to the window and watched side by side as the sun started to take her place in the sky.

He glanced at his side to see the sun reflecting in Lucy' blonde hair, making it shine just like a star. Her brown orbs locked into his void ones, she whispered to him.

"I will get you back, I promise." He gave her a soft smile and continued in her stead, "And a celestial mage never breaks her promises."

Lucy winked at him, "You bet."

He started to fade in front of her eyes, his silver mist engulfed him till he disappeared completely. Lucy stood there with a sad smile on her face, she focused once again on the sun and sighed.

"I guess the day has started." She mumbled.

Corvus returned back to the celestial spirit world and was brought directly to the king.

"Are you ready, spirit of the crow, Corvus?" the king questioned as Corvus bowed and answered that he is.

The king raised his sword and then recited, "By order of the spirits, Corvus the crow is hereby excused back to his world. May the stars align your journey and guide you in the right path."

Corvus felt himself fading from this world, he glanced around and saw that all the zodiac spirits were circling him, some had nice smiles on their faces while other had frowns.

His eyes stopped at Loke to see him grinning at him, he shot him a grin back before he vanished from this world and back to his.

Lucy was still standing in front of the window when she saw that the key in her hand started shining. She looked down at the key to see the silver on it break, leaving a place for the color black to appear, with a resounding crack, the key that the blonde was now holding turned black, its top had black wings and the face of a crow was in the middle of the white.

Lucy gazed at it astonishingly, she closed her hands around it and promised once more that she will get him back.

…

After her shower, she got dressed and was about to open the door when she heard someone knock, she opened it and saw that it was her daughter, dressed in a waitress costume, she already knew where this was heading.

"Good, you are up, now help."

Lucy chuckled at her little girl's cute demand and helped her wake up the rest, they moved on to the dining room where Justin and Red were already there at the table in their waiters costumes. Everyone gushed at how cure they were, and her daughter started acting cutely so that Jellal, Midnight, Cobra and the rest would give her attention, which she succeeded in doing. Lucy could already picture the boys coming on her doorsteps when Layla matures, only for Lucy to send them packing because no one is taking her precious baby from her.

She locked eyes with Jellal and they both grinned, turns out she wasn't the only one thinking like that. Zeno served breakfast and the kids helped him, while the adults spoke about what they would do if someone approached any of the kids. They spent this morning laughing and joking around, especially when Layla shouted that she would like a boyfriend only to have all the males on the table to either spit or choke on their food, her brothers included. The women just sat there laughing at the men's reaction because they knew that Layla did this on purpose. She liked to trigger them a lot.

At the end of breakfast, the males sitting on the table agreed to never read stories about princes and princesses to Layla ever again.

Red was laughing when he started coughing, he became red from the coughs and Lucy immediately became worried. After a while it died down and everyone thought it was because of the laughing fit.

Now Lucy was on her way to her office, she stopped at Angel' door and knocked, "Come on Sorano, we have work to do."

The door opened and Lucy raised a delicate brow at the woman's attire. Sorano was clad in a white and black strips business suit with white high heels, her silver hair pulled up in a bun and she had on a faded shade of pink lipstick.

"How do I look, boss?"

Lucy laughed at what she said and clapped her hands, "You look amazing, but I'd prefer the word partner." Sorano beamed at that.

Lucy clasped her hand with the silverette, "Come on we have a lot of work to do."

They spent half the morning with Lucy teaching Angel how everything goes, from the documents to the shipping and the different companies they are partners with. Lucy was surprised at how fast Sorano was learning things and found out from the girl that this was her dream job when she was a kid. Unfortunately, Sorano can't sign any legal documents that give her half of the shares because she is a prisoner at the moment, but Lucy promised her that the minute she is done with her time, she would sign these papers and Sorano didn't have any problem with working till then.

"Alright." Lucy put a thick folder in front the both of them.

"What's that?" Angel inquired as she looked at the stack of papers in front of her.

"Job applications, these are all the people who applied to work in the spa."

Sorano widened her eyes, "But it's not even open yet, it's still being remodeled."

Lucy nodded, "While that is true, it's better to get this out of way, so when we open everything is set and good to go."

Sorano smiled at her and got to work, they spent the next hour going through different applications and discussing each individual's abilities. This morning, Sorano surprised Lucy in many ways. She found out that the girl is smart, has a business mind and cares with a fiery passion about this job.

Midway through the discussion, the communication lacrima started emitting a soft light and Lucy answered the call.

"Good morning Lucy-san, hope I haven't interrupted you from anything."

Lucy shook her head and smiled at the man, "Not at all Lahar-san and good morning to you too."

Sorano immediately perked up at the mention of his name and started eavesdropping on them.

"I got the folders Lucy-san, I will send them to you today."

Lucy nodded her head, "Okay that's great. Anything else Lahar-san?"

Sorano could see the man start to blush and she held in her giggle.

"I- I just wanted to make sure you were alright, th- that you made it back home safely." He averted his eyes and the blush intensified.

Sorano could no longer hold it in and a small giggle escaped, thankfully it wasn't heard by the blonde who was now smiling brightly at the man and reassuring him that she was alright.

After that they bid each other goodbye and closed the call, Lucy turned to see Sorano smirking at her, the mirth practically spilling from her eyes.

Lucy rolled hers as she continued sifting through the files, her peace came to an end when Sorano leaned in and started singing.

"Lahar and Lucy, sitting under a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N, OW!" Sorano held her head and started rubbing it.

"Uwu, you hurt me mommy!" the silverette whined as Lucy shook her head at her, the folder she used to smack her on the head wasn't even thick, "Work Sorano."

"Hai!" the silverette mock saluted and got back to work.

XXX

It was night time now, they finished dinner and everyone was off in their own world, the kids put to bed, Sorano reading some magic books, Jellal and Meredy plus Ultear having their meeting, while the rest played some poker.

Lucy was in her office inspecting the folders she had received from Lahar, it turns out the office deliveries was divided between different categories, some went for the military officials and others to the doctors. Lucy looked at the amount of money each category got and found out that the officials got more than the doctors, which didn't make sense since the doctors need a lot of equipment in their offices, as for what they were buying it was all normal.

Now she looked at the files that she got from HPICA, the company they are dealing with, famous for the fact that it has any resources a person could ever need and only deals with big companies and the military.

She studied every deal they made and nothing came up, everything was clean. Then she studied the names that were handling the deals, and this one name came up for each category many times, Roran.

The blonde groaned as she felt a headache coming along, she let go of everything and went to the bar to get some drink. She met the others who were playing poker and decided to join in.

Her drink of whiskey in hand, her chips ahead of her, she looked at her cards and folded. This was just not her day.

"I can literally see the gears in your troubled mind working, what's up Sunshine?" Cobra asked as he handed another game.

She sighed and told them about what happened this morning, about the call with Lahar and of her visit yesterday to the HQ.

"Damn." Racer noted as he took a shot of his drink.

"Yeah… that's a lot." Midnight added as he folded his cards.

"I have never heard of Legendary Keys ever before." Hoteye commented as he scratched his chin.

"Well that makes two of us." Lucy stretched, feeling the bones in her back popping made her feel a little better.

Cobra got up and went behind her back, he started massaging her head and Lucy relaxed her shoulders.

Midnight straightened up and looked at the blonde, "Lucy, you know you can count on us for anything right?"

The blonde nodded her head, "I know, I'm so sorry if you felt like I was keeping you in the dark or something, I just haven't been sleeping well and things are just messed up."

Racer glanced at the blonde and noticed how tired she looked with everything that's happening around, "You know we can ask some acquaintances for help."

Lucy' brow rose at his statement, "What do you mean?"

Midnight perked up, "That is correct, we still know some people from the underworld, we can help you with information, because at the moment that is all we could do."

Lucy thought about it before she nodded, "Alright, if you could get me information on HPICA then that would be great."

Racer winked at her, "Deal."

It was silent for a while before Lucy looked at her brother.

"By the way Coco-nii, why haven't you dressed up yet?" Lucy smirked at the slayer's frown.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She laughed at his pathetic try of getting out of the bet.

"What's that all about?" Racer asked.

Lucy heard Cobra curse behind her, she shot him a glance and answered, "Almost two years ago, we made a bet on the boys, I betted that they would both be lightning dragon slayers, he betted that one is celestial and the other is lightning."

This earned everyone's attention.

"And on what was it?" Midnight could see the despair shaping on the slayer's face.

Lucy winks mischievously at Midnight, "The winner gets to do whatever the hell they want with the loser. And I chose that he has to act as a maid for a day, while wearing a maid costume."

Cobra growled at the amused looks on the men's faces.

"Well this will be interesting to see. Cobra why didn't you wear it today?" Hoteye turned to the slayer.

"I- I forgot."

Lucy giggled at her brother, "It's alright, I will make sure tomorrow you won't forget."

Cobra surrendered once again to his fate as they spent all that night making fun of him.

The next morning, Lucy knocked on his door and the minute he opened it Lucy almost fell from laughter. It resounded through the hallways and everyone gathered to see the commotion, soon after they all joined in on the laughter, Spetto even said that he looks good while Zeno took so many pictures 'For leverage' as he said.

XXX

"That's good Lucy-sama, now you should feel your magic flowing inside your veins, I want you to reach out for that magic and hold on to it, then lead it outside your body." Capricorn instructed the blonde as she meditated.

Lucy did as was told of her, she held on to her magic and let it flow outside her body. The air picked up a little bit, glowing threads started to appear around the blonde and it continued to thicken until it surrounded her in a ball of light. The rest was watching her, they agreed that this morning they would all train together while the kids are still asleep.

"Very good Lucy-sama, now I want you to expand your release on the magic just a little so as to not lose control of it."

She listened to his advice and loosened the leash on her magic, she felt it swell next to her and the pressure increased. Sweat started to trickle her forehead as she concentrated on her meditation. She was going to fulfill that promise she made a month ago no matter what.

"Now reign in your magic, pull it back into your body. Guide it through your veins back to your magic containers."

She pictured herself pulling her magic through her pores, then she pictured golden threads flowing through her veins until they reached her containers. The pressure decreased and the threads faded, Lucy let out a breath as she laid on her back.

"Excellent job today Lucy-sama, you have advanced quite far in your training." Capricorn complimented his master as he stood next to her.

"Thank you so much Capricorn." She smiled brightly at him and he bowed before he vanished.

Lucy closed her eyes and relaxed, training today was liberating for the blonde, she has begun her steps into taking one of her family members back and she couldn't be any happier. That is until a scream tore at her heart and she dashed to the mansion.

She reached the door to find it open with Spetto worryingly waiting for the girl.

"What happened Spetto-san?" Lucy rushed to the woman when she saw her shaking.

"Red-sama was playing with his brother when suddenly they both started coughing and they choked out some blood." Spetto didn't know how she said all that without stuttering.

"What?!" Lucy widened her eyes before she ran inside, everyone else following her.

She saw Zeno kneeling next to the boys, Layla crying next to him. The minute the little girl spotted her mother she ran and hugged her as she sobbed. Lucy immediately picked her up and went to Zeno, the scene she looked at when she crouched next to him will probably plague her mind for the rest of her life.

The rest were coming closer when she shouted at them to stop, she didn't want them to see her boys like that. She put Layla down and told her to go to them.

"Sunshine what's going on?" he could smell the putrid scent of blood, and of something worse.

He watched as his sister called out for Loke, the spirit appeared and gasped at the sight in front of him.

"Sunshine!"

Lucy turned to him and he saw the tears flowing down her cheeks, but he also saw fear like never before.

"Eric, I need you to take Layla out of the house, don't let her see this. I don't want any of you to see this. I'm taking them to a doctor I know of that lives outside of Magnolia, please take care of Layla until I return."

Her whole body was shaking as she took the blanket that the lion brought and she enveloped her oldest in it, immediately the white sheet started to turn red.

He only nodded his head and rushed everyone outside the house, he picked Layla up who went into hysterics screaming how she wants to be with her mother. Lucy and Loke ran each one carrying a boy in their hands, they reached the train station and from there they rode it to Magnolia.

Zeno got out of the house and met with the rest, he had a look on his face as if he just saw a ghost.

Cobra took him to the side after he handed Layla to Jellal who worked on calming her down.

"Zeno what the hell happened?"

Suddenly, the bulk of a man started crying, resulting in shocking the slayer and the others as well.

"Thank god you didn't see, thank god- I- I don't know how will I ever forget this." His body gave in to the shock and he crumbled to the floor, Cobra was quick to catch him before he hit the ground.

He looked over his shoulder at Midnight who was breathing heavily, not liking the situation at all, Sorano was next to him crying. His attention was brought back to Zeno as he heard him whisper.

"It was like a bomb of lightning exploded in them. They were torched black laying in their own pool of blood."

**Hello everyone, first of all I would like to apologize for not updating in so long, I had so many things going on so, sorry for that.**

**Second of all, in my previous chapter I said there will be a surprise at the end of this chapter, well it's for the next chapter, so sorry for that as well.**

**Also there will be another long chapter after this one, and we will get back to the moderate size ones.**

**On another note, I really should let Lucy catch a breath shouldn't I? hehe, thank you so much for the follows, favorites and reviews, it won't be long before I come back with another chapter.**

**KAWAIINECKO, signing out.**


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